- Date
- August 22, 1995, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Dalhart, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N3169UAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 21, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950822025399A
- Case key
- 19555
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 control of the airplane during takeoff.
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 was taking off from the grassy edge of a plowed field. He reported that just as the tail lifted, the left wing struck the ground and the right wing hit a fence.
Factual narrative
On August 22, 1995, at 1130 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301, N3169U, collided with the ground and a fence during takeoff from a plowed field near Dalhart, Texas. The pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The agricultural airplane, owned and operated by American Sprayers, was being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 137 when the accident occurred. The aerial application flight was intended to apply chemicals to a local field. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The operator reported that, while spraying earlier that morning, the airplane's engine had "blown a cylinder" and the pilot was forced to land in a plowed circular field. The airplane was not damaged during the forced landing. After accomplishing the repairs to the engine, the pilot attempted to takeoff from the "grassy" edge of the plowed field. He reported that just as the "tail lifted", the left wing "struck the ground" and then the right wing "hit a fence."
Examination of the airplane, revealed structural damage to the right wing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3169U
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0577
- Airframe hours
- 4,952
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- American Sprayers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 6, 1995 · 374 hours before
- Departed
- DHT
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 9,800 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.