Air Tractor AT-802F accident near Salmon River, Idaho, August 11, 2000
On August 11, 2000 at about 6:36 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-802F, registered N6159F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salmon River, Idaho. 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
Compressor turbine blade failure due to high-cycle fatigue initiating in the surface of the fir-tree root. Factors include unsuitable terrain for an emergency landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 11, 2000 · about 6:36 pm local time
- Place
- Salmon River, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-802F
- Registration
- N6159F · registry record · serial 802A-0029
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While conducting fire suppression operations the airplane sustained substantial damage subsequent to a loss of engine power and forced landing. The pilot reported that during a normal application run over the fire, the airplane lost engine power. Due to unsuitable terrain for an emergency landing, the pilot ditched the airplane into a nearby river. Post accident inspection of the turbine engine revealed that a compressor turbine blade was fractured in the first serration of the fir-tree root. Personnel from the Materials Laboratory examined the fracture face of the affected turbine blade and reported that the fracture surface appeared smooth with a curving boundary, typical of fatigue. Fatigue striations and ratchet marks, typical of high-cycle fatigue propagation were observed. Near the fatigue origin, no surface damage was observed, and no material anomalies were visible on the fracture surface.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 35,000 hours in all; 320 in this make and model; 112 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 29,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,258 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 3, 2000; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6-67-AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S80 Grangeville ID at 6:25 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N6159F 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.