Air Tractor AT-502 accident near Shelley, Idaho, July 12, 1999
On July 12, 1999 at about 4:40 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502, registered N90807, was destroyed in an accident near Shelley, Idaho. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain adequate clearance with obstacles. A contributing factor were the trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 1999 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Shelley, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Registration
- N90807 · no longer on the register · serial 502-0191
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Witnesses observed the cropduster execute a second pass to a potato field from east to west. During the pull-up the aircraft failed to clear a bank of deciduous trees. Broken tree limbs and a portion of the aircraft's spray boom were found immediately west of the tree line. The aircraft impacted the ground approximately 0.15 miles further west of the tree line.
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
- Flight time: 4,850 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 4,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,642 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 8, 1999; 150 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Rigby ID at 4:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from IDA, 6 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.