Air Tractor AT-502B N503GK

Summary

On 16 June 2026 at about 01:15 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B registered N503GK, operated by Kurtz Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Forbes, Missouri, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

16 June 2026 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Forbes, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

39.8800, -95.0528

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502B

Registration

N503GK

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Kurtz Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ANC26FA054

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On June 15, 2026, about 2015 Central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502B airplane, N503GK, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Forbes, Missouri. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 Agricultural flight. According to the operator, the airplane was working off a remote grass airstrip 15 miles northwest of Rosecrans Airport (KSTJ) starting at 1730. The purpose of the flight was to apply urea and ammonia sulfate to a corn field. The pilot was working 5 miles southeast of the grass airstrip. There were two company airplanes working in the area. Each airplane was equipped with a Mode C transponder and automatic dependent surveillance- broadcast (ADS-B). They maintained two-way communication between the two airplanes and the ground crew. There was no distress calls made on the radio or any indication of a mechanical problem with the accident airplane, and there were no witnesses to the accident. The airplane wreckage was subsequently found nose down, in an area of tree-covered terrain, resulting in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage and empennage. A detailed wreckage examination is pending.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.