Air Tractor AT-502 accident near Clewiston, Florida, June 2, 1998
On June 2, 1998 at about 6:50 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502, registered N7318K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Clewiston, Florida. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout while taxiing for takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 2, 1998 · about 6:50 pm local time
- Place
- Clewiston, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Registration
- N7318K · no longer on the register · serial 502-0008
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that as he was taxiing out for takeoff, crossing a culvert, he was too close to the edge of the culvert. The dirt edge collapsed and the right main landing gear slid into the ditch.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,625 hours in all; 1,400 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 5,625 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,823 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 10, 1997; 138 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air CORP Care INC.
The flight
- Departed from: N/A Clewston FL at 6:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 11 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from PBI, 55 miles away
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 N7318K 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.