- Date
- June 29, 2001, 19:45 local (Jun 30, 2001, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- Grygla, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3656BAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010629014609A
- Case key
- 52605
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 not maintaining altitude/clearance from terrain on takeoff. A factor was the high density altitude.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The aerial application airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain on initial climbout from a private airstrip. The pilot reported no injuries. The pilot's written statement indicated, "Took of[f] with a light load NW wind at 3-5 mph. Temp at 82[degrees.] After take off I passed trees on the west side of airport [and] right wing first fell [and] the air was bad [and] aircraft settled to the ground[.] The aircraft was destroyed[.]" The pilot listed no airplane "mechanical malfunction failure" on his statement. The temperature, 27 nautical miles and 230 degrees from the accident site, was 27 degrees C and the density altitude there was 2,802 feet above mean sea level.
Factual narrative
On June 29, 2001, about 1945 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301, N3656B, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain on initial climbout from a private airstrip (2,600 feet by 50 feet, dry asphalt) near Grygla, Minnesota. The aerial application flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot's written statement indicated, "Took of[f] with a light load NW wind at 3-5 mph. Temp at 82[degrees.] After take off I passed trees on the west side of airport [and] right wing first fell [and] the air was bad [and] aircraft settled to the ground[.] The aircraft was destroyed[.]" The pilot listed no airplane "mechanical malfunction failure" on his statement.
At 1955, the Thief River Falls Regional Airport, near Thief River Falls, Minnesota, located 27 nautical miles and 230 degrees from the accident site, was: Wind 320 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 27 degrees C; dew point 16 degrees C; altimeter 29.92 inches of mercury.
At 1955, density altitude at the Thief River Falls Regional Airport was 2,802 feet above mean sea level.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3656B
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0303
- Airframe hours
- 5,935
- Engine
- P&W R1340 ANI, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- James Kahl Holte
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 19, 2001 · 95 hours before
- Departed
- Grygla, MN
- Airport
- Private Airstrip, runway 36, 2,600 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- April 25, 2000
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 7,630 total · 2,100 in this make and model · 7,500 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- TVF, 27 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.