Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Salome, Arizona, August 30, 2007
On August 30, 2007 at about 5:00 am local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N8521Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salome, Arizona (Vicksburg Farms Airstrip 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 inadequate compensation for the tailwind condition and failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll/run, which resulted in a ground loop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 2007 · about 5:00 am local time
- Place
- Salome, Arizona · Vicksburg Farms Airstrip · 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
- N8521Z · registry record · serial 502B-0693
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, during the downwind takeoff on Runway 27 "...the tail came up at the 'normal spot' then went back down. I wasn't going to get airborne by the end of the airstrip and attempted to stop the airplane." The pilot stated that the airplane then ground looped with the left wing contacting the ground, turning the airplane 180 degrees and coming to rest upright facing the southeast. Damage to left wing included both the front and rear spars being bent. The pilot reported that the airstrip is a one-way strip running east and west, with takeoffs to the west only. The pilot reported that the wind at the time of the accident was from 135 degrees magnetic estimated at 10 knots, with gusts estimated at 20 knots.
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
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Salome AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 135° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Temperature: 100°F (38°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 N8521Z 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.