NTSB Factual Report

On July 26, 2002, at 1100 central daylight time, an Air Tractor 301, N3167P, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage when it impacted into a soybean field and nosed over during takeoff from a private airstrip near Ulen, Minnesota. The grass runway at the airstrip was reported to be 1/2 mile long and 100 feet wide. The takeoff was performed to the west. The 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The pilot received minor injuries. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

In a written statement, the pilot stated, "Departed as normal, aircraft at midpoint didn't seem to accelerate normally. By the time I got done rechecking flaps, prop, mixture, [and] power, my booms caught the soybeans [and] pulled me down until I went inverted."

A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot not performing an aborted takeoff. A factor was the soybean crop.