Air Tractor AT-400 N400MJ

Summary

On 25 May 1999 at about 14:45 local time, a Air Tractor AT-400 registered N400MJ, operated by Jordan Air, was involved in an accident near Elkhart, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 May 1999 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Elkhart, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.0006, -101.8892

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-400

Registration

N400MJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jordan Air

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ulysses → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99FA165

1 person died.

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision and his inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident was the poor weather conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft was being flown from Ulysses, Kansas, following maintenance to the aerial spray system. A drilling rig worker, operating at a 96-foot tall temporary oil-drilling rig, located approximately 0.75 miles north of the accident site, said that the airplane came directly at them on a south heading. The worker reported that the altitude of the aircraft was below the height of the rig (96 feet) but above his position approximately 50 feet above ground level. The worker stated that the aircraft banked right to avoid the tower and flew southerly into the fog. The airplane impacted terrain approximately 0.75 miles south of the drilling rig. The weather 50 nautical miles east of the accident site was reported as overcast at 300 feet above ground level. Witnesses estimated the local ceiling to be 180 to 200 feet at the time of the accident. There is no record of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing. There were no mechanical discrepancies found during the examination of the wreckage that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.