- Date
- July 31, 2006, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Springfield, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N23720Air Tractor AT-400
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Minneapolis, MN FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060731017019A
- Case key
- 64436
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 inability to maintain directional control of the airplane as a result of the partial failure of the tail wheel assembly. A factor associated with the accident was the crop that the airplane contacted.
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 airplane ground looped following a failure of one of the tail wheel bolts. The pilot reported that he was landing at a private grass airstrip when the accident occurred. He reported that upon landing the tail wheel broke and the airplane ground looped. Inspection of the airplane revealed that it traveled into a bean field during the ground loop and that the bottom bolt on the tail wheel assembly fractured which resulted in a loss of directional control.
Factual narrative
The airplane ground looped following a failure of one of the tail wheel bolts. The pilot reported he was landing at a private grass airstrip when the accident occurred. He reported that upon landing the tail wheel broke and the airplane ground looped. Inspection of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector from the Minneapolis, Minnesota Flight Standards District Office revealed the airplane traveled into a bean field during the ground loop. The inspector reported the bottom bolt on the tail wheel assembly fractured which resulted in the loss of directional control.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N23720
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-400
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 400-0422
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Dlux Spray Service
- Registered owner
- South Plains Aero, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- 27D · Canby, MN
- Destination
- PVT · Springfield, MN
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
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 1,750 total · 1,750 in this make and model · 50 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N23720 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.