Probable cause
The pilot's failure to assure the primer control was locked during the aircraft preflight. Factors associated with the accident were the low altitude at which the airplane was operating, the fence, the roadway, and the ditch.
NTSB analysis
The pilot reported he was spraying a field at an altitude of 5 to 10 feet above the ground, when the engine ran rough, stopped, started, then stopped again. He reported he tried to land in an open pasture, but the airplane lost too much altitude while making a left turn. The pilot leveled the wings and the airplane contacted the terrain. The airplane traveled through a fence and a ditch prior to crossing a road and coming to rest in another ditch. Post accident inspection of the airplane revealed the fuel primer control knob was not locked and it had backed out.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CHI08CA266 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 25, 2008
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Jasper, Minnesota
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Air Tractor AT-301A
- N-number
- N3654T
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 137 (agricultural)
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial observation
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.