# Accident 19970620015289A: Airtrc AT301, La Belle, FL, June 20, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 20, 1997, 15:30 local time
- Place: La Belle, FL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: NGFG
- Location: 26.7209° N, 81.4525° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of LaBelle, FL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.7209&lon=-81.4525&mi=10
- Aircraft: N23728, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N23728-2005-03-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-301 (registry code 0390103, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-301) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R1340 series (registry code 52016, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT301
- Reported engine: PWA R1340*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL97LA087](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA087) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970620015289A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4)AFTER RELOADING TO APPLY FERTILIZER TO A SUGAR CANE FIELD, THE PILOT TOOK OFF AND MADE A SWATH RUN. DURING A TURN-AROUND MANEUVER FOR THE SECOND SWATH, AT ABOUT 200 YARDS AWAY FROM THE FIELD AND 50 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN SINKING RAPIDLY. THE PILOT ADDED FULL POWER, AND THE AIRPLANE MUSHED INTO THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE HIT A LEVEE, NOSED OVER, AND CAME TO REST ABOUT 100 FEET INTO THE SUGAR CANE FIELD. (-23) PILOT STATES THAT HE WAS SPRAYING A FIELD NEAR LABELLE, FL AND AS HE CAME OUT OF A TURN TO LINE UP ON THE NEXT PASS THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL97LA087](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA087), Jun 20, 1997: Air Tractor AT-301A (N23728), Labelle, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn-around maneuver, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/mush and collision with the terrain.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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