Air Tractor AT-301 N3659T

Summary

On 31 July 1998 at about 18:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-301 registered N3659T was involved in an accident near Mentha, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 1998 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mentha, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

42.4002, -86.2708

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-301

Registration

N3659T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98LA290

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's improper inflight decision to land the airplane on the gravel covered road with an uneven surface that had corn growing next to its edge. A factor in this accident was the pilot selecting an unsuitable landing area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of an aerial applicator airplane landed his airplane on a road that had an uneven surface and was covered with lose gravel. The road had mature corn growing along its edges. The pilot said his left wing tip struck the corn as the airplane touched down. Furrows in the gravel showed the airplane had turned about 45-degrees to the left shortly after touch down. The furrows continued into and through a ditch and into the corn where the airplane came to a stop.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.