NTSB MKC90LA030 — 1989-11-07 · ELLINWOOD, Kansas, United States

Current FAA registration · N3158Z

Make / Model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301
Seats / Engines: 1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19820505
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A35CEC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N3158Z Air Tractor AT301 None

Probable cause & findings

THE PARTIAL FAILURE OF THE ENGINE FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS WHICH RESULTED IN A FORCED LANDING. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE SOFT DIRT.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING CLIMBOUT HE BELIEVED THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED A PARTIAL LOSS OF ENG PWR. HE DUMPED HIS CHEMICAL LOAD AS THE ACFT DESCENDED. HE MANEUVERED THE ACFT TO AVOID SEVERAL OBSTACLES, BUT THE LEFT GEAR EVENTUALLY SEPARATED AFTER THE ACFT LANDED IN SOFT DIRT. A POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE ENGINE FAILED TO ACCOUNT FOR THE REPORTED PARTIAL LOSS OF ENGINE PWR; THE DISASSEMBLY OF THE ENG DID NOT REVEAL ANY PRE-IMPACT MALFUNCTION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MKC90LA030.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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