# Accident 20250723010069A: Air Tractor Inc AT-301, Hartsburg, IL, July 23, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 23, 2025, 08:45 local time
- Place: Hartsburg, IL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Departure Roll
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: 9FIG
- Location: 40.2367° N, 89.4274° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2367&lon=-89.4274&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2371V, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2371V-2026-04-06) (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: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301
- Reported engine: HONEYWELL TPE331-SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,184 total, 219 in this make and model, 92 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN25LA283](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA283) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250723010069A

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 23, 2025 AT APPROXIMATELY 0830 LOCAL CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AN AT-301 WITH HONEYWELL TPE331 CONVERSION WITH 300 GAL OF FUNGUSIDE AND 120 GALLONS OF FUEL. PILOT ATTEMPTED NORTHWEST HEADING DEPARTURE FROM A PRIVATE GRASS STRIP IN HARTSBURG ILLINOIS (40 14 08N) (89 25 33W). WEATHER TEMP 81 DEGREES, HUMIDITY OF 84%, AND DEW POINT OF 75.2. THE WINDS WERE OUT OF THE SOUTH SOUTEAST AT 9.1MPH AND GUST UP TO 13 MPH. PILOT STATEMENT STATED THAT THIS REGION RECEIVED RAINFALL IN THIS REGION MAKING THIS AIRSTRIP SOFTER. PILOT STATEMENT ALSO ADDED THAT THE GRASS WAS LONGER THAN WHEN PILOT PREVIOUSLY WORKED THIS GRASS STRIP. PILOT REPORTED THAT THE GRASS GROWTH, RAINFALL, AND AIR DENSITY WERE UNDERESTIMATED. AIRCRAFT PROCEDED THOUGH THE CORN STALKS FOR APPROXIMATLY 90 YDS AND CAME TO REST AT (40 14 20 N) (89 25 45).

## 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 CEN25LA283](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA283), Jul 23, 2025: Air Tractor AT-301 (N2371V), Hartsburg, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during takeoff with a tailwind from a wet turf airstrip.

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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