Air Tractor AT-301 accident near Waynesboro, Georgia, August 16, 1997
On August 16, 1997 at about 1:30 am local time, a Air Tractor AT-301, registered N4411S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Waynesboro, Georgia. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The obscured vision of the pilot due to oil covering the windscreen. Contributing to the accident was the partial loss of engine power due to a cracked head of one of the cylinders and unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 1997 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Waynesboro, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Registration
- N4411S · no longer on the register · serial 301-0071
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After completion of spray application while returning to the departure airport, the engine experienced a partial loss of power and engine oil began covering the windscreen. The pilot initiated a forced landing on a road but during the landing roll, the airplane drifted off the road into a ditch and nosed over. Examination of the engine revealed that the head of the No. 1 cylinder was cracked from one spark plug hole to the other.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,888 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 750 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 12,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,450 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 2, 1997
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BXG
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from AGS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N4411S the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.