- Date
- July 13, 2026, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Whiting, KS
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N808HBAir Tractor AT802
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 8, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- Case key
- 203385
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from an antenna while maneuvering during a low-level aerial application flight.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while making a low-level aerial application pass over a corn field, he heard a loud bang and felt as if the airplane impacted something. He attempted to increase the engine power, but the engine did not respond to the throttle control inputs. The pilot performed an emergency hopper dump of the liquid chemical load and conducted a forced landing to a flat grass field, and a post-impact fire ensued. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, engine mount, elevator, and both wings. The propeller hub was found near a damaged antenna about .75 mi from where the airplane came to rest. The antenna was located inside of a metal fence, next to a small white building. The pilot reported that there were no pre-impact malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N808HB
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT802 (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 802A0498
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 6,933.6
- Engine
- Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG, 1,295 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Heinen Brothers
- Registered owner
- Kansas Farm and Ranch Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 1, 2025
- Departed
- Salina, KS
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 49
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Sport Pilot, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 6, 2025
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 8,700 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 8,600 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- KTOP, 30 nm away
- METAR
- KTOP 131653Z VRB04KT 10SM SCT036 BKN048 28/21 A3022 RMK AO2 SLP224 T02830206,M
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 8, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 MB in all.