Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Tunica, Mississippi, August 13, 2008
On August 13, 2008 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N61267, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering (low-alt flying) near Tunica, Mississippi (None airport). 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 failure to maintain clearance from the power lines during low-altitude maneuvers.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 13, 2008 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Tunica, Mississippi · None · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Registration
- N61267 · no longer on the register · serial 502B-0303
- 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 of the agricultural airplane flew along a set of power lines, which ran over a wooded area that restricted his ability to see both sides of a field that he was going to spray. After flying along the power lines, he determined that he had enough clearance to "fit under the wire." He thought that it looked "good," and began his spray run on the east side of a field passing under the power lines without incident. He then began a spray run on the west side of the field, but as he approached the power lines he realized that the "wire was too low to go under." Rather than risk hooking his main landing gear on the wires and flipping the airplane onto its back, he chose to "fly into the wire." The airplane received substantial damage to the propeller, engine, empennage, wings and landing gear.
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
What happened, in order
- Low altitude operation/event during maneuvering (low-alt flying) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Wire › Not specified
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Altitude › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion › Perception › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model
- Last flight review: March 1, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,550 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 1, 2008
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Dusters Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Sledge MS
- Destination: Tunica MS
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.80 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from OLV, 43 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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 N61267 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.