- Date
- April 3, 1998, 09:10 local (15:10 UTC)
- Place
- Highmore, SD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1008TAir Tractor AT-401
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980403005879A
- Case key
- 10848
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 failed to abort the takeoff in a timely manner and could not stop on the runway.
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 pilot reported that during the takeoff roll he noticed the airplane was not accelerating normally. He reported that he checked the manifold pressure and RPM's, and that the RPM's were low. He checked the propeller control at full forward. The pilot reported that he veered to the right to avoid a highway at the end of the runway. The airplane went through a fence and into a pasture, breaking the left landing gear as it slid to a stop. The airplane was inspected. The engine was started and run to approximately 1,800 RPM and the operation appeared normal. A small amount of water was drained from the right fuel cell.
Factual narrative
On April 3, 1998, at 0910 central standard time, an Air Tractor AT-401, N1008T, operated by Kroeplin Ag Service, was substantially damaged when the airplane veered off the runway during the takeoff roll and went through a ditch. The commercial pilot was not injured. The CFR Part 137 flight was departing a grass airstrip near Highmore, South Dakota, on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll he noticed the airplane was not accelerating normally. He reported that he checked the manifold pressure and RPM's, and that the RPM's were low. He checked the propeller control at full forward. The pilot reported that he veered to the right to avoid a highway at the end of the runway. The airplane went through a fence and into a pasture, breaking the left landing gear as it slid to a stop.
The airplane was inspected. The engine was started and run to approximately 1,800 RPM and the operation appeared normal. A small amount of water was drained from the right fuel cell.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1008T
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-401
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 401-0703
- Airframe hours
- 4,199
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Krechard Kroeplin L.L.C.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 1997 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- 9DO
- Airport
- 9D0 · Highmore Municipal, runway 12, 2,800 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 12,500 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 12,200 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Observed at
- PIR, 37 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.