Air Tractor AT 502 accident near Lamesa, Texas, October 22, 2019
On October 22, 2019 at about 5:00 pm local time, a 1992 Air Tractor AT 502, registered N9143F, suffered minor damage in an accident during maneuvering (low-alt flying) near Lamesa, Texas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper decision to maneuver at a low altitude and in close proximity to a wind turbine undergoing maintenance, which resulted in a collision with a tagline rope being held by a worker on the ground and serious injury to the worker.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 22, 2019 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lamesa, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT 502 B, built 1992
- Registration
- N9143F · registry record · serial 502-0197
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was returning from a local aerial application flight when he decided to fly at low altitude past a wind turbine that he believed his friend was working on. The airplane's right wing collided with a tagline rope that was attached to one of the wind turbine blades and being held by a worker on the ground. The worker was thrown about 20 ft and sustained several fractured vertebrae and a broken leg. The airplane's right wing sustained minor damage; however, the pilot was able to make a normal landing at his intended destination without incident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Miscellaneous/other during maneuvering (low-alt flying) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during maneuvering (low-alt flying)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Wire › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,680 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 78 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 1,450 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 14, 2018
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,086 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 7, 2019; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Plains Aerial Applicators Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: LUV Lamesa TX at 4:08 pm
- Destination: LUV Lamesa TX
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.23 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 pm from LUV, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N9143F the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN20LA013.