Air Tractor AT-301 accident near Coahoma, Texas, October 13, 2004
On October 13, 2004 at about 9:50 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-301, registered N8886S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Coahoma, 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 13, 2004 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Coahoma, 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-301
- Registration
- N8886S · registry record · serial 301-0227
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While spraying cotton for boll weevil eradication, the airplane developed a vibration. Thinking that the spray pump was about to sling a blade, the 3,600-hour commercial pilot elected to make a precautionary landing on a gravel road. After touch down the pilot was unable to maintain directional control and departed the right side of the road. The right wheel then contacted a dirt embankment and the airplane turned sharply to the right, resulting in the collapse of the left main landing gear. The airplane came to rest, upright, in a ditch. The winds were reported from 140 degrees at 6 knots.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,600 hours in all; 1,630 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 21XS Big Spring TX
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N8886S the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.