Snow 600-S2C accident near Bickleton, Washington, March 13, 1998
On March 13, 1998 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Snow 600-S2C, registered N1640S, was destroyed in an accident near Bickleton, Washington. 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 mismanagement of the fuel which led to fuel exhaustion. A related factor was unsuitable terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 13, 1998 · about 6:30 pm local time · cases in 1998
- Place
- Bickleton, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Snow 600-S2C · all 600-S2Cs on the register
- Registration
- N1640S · no longer on the register · serial 600-1189C
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot took off 50 minutes to 1 hour before the accident, and was spraying a field at the time of the accident. He reported that on the last pass, as he was pulling up, the engine lost power in a left turn. He performed a forced landing onto rough and uneven terrain; and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The aircraft salvage crew who recovered the aircraft reported that they found 3 gallons of fuel in the aircraft's left wing tank and no fuel in the right wing tank (the aircraft has a 33-gallon tank in each wing, of which 6.5 gallons in each tank is unusable.)
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,753 hours in all; 115 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 2,468 as pilot in command; 41 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,996 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 1998; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Donoho Road WA at 5:30 pm
- Destination: Unknown
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 57°F (14°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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1640S: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Snow 600 7 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Snow 19 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN1 64 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Washington 2,713 since 1982 · 361 in the last ten years
- Washington 10,663 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA98LA054.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.