Air Tractor AT-402 accident near Holly Bluff, Mississippi, August 18, 1999
On August 18, 1999 at about 11:45 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-402, registered N1510Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Holly Bluff, Mississippi. 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 pilot's failure to maintain visual separation between his airplane and a tree while maneuvering during aerial application and the subsequent collision with the tree and the terrain. A factor in the accident was the sunglare on the airplane's windscreen.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1999 · about 11:45 pm local time
- Place
- Holly Bluff, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-402
- Registration
- N1510Z · no longer on the register · serial 402-0829
- 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 aerial application airplane's right wing collided with a tree while working a pattern that was oriented in an east-west direction, causing the airplane to impact the terrain and cartwheel. The pilot reported that during insecticide application some overspray accumulated on the windscreen, leaving an oily residue that obscured his vision when his direction of flight headed into the sun.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,642 hours in all; 780 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 1,730 as pilot in command; 620 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,335 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 17, 1999; 312 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6-15AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Holly Bluff MS at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 010° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 99°F (37°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:54 pm from JAN, 44 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.
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.