Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Farwell, Texas, September 12, 2003
On September 12, 2003 at about 3:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N61353, was destroyed in an accident near Farwell, Texas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 2003 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Farwell, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Registration
- N61353 · no longer on the register · serial 502B-0366
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While maneuvering during an aerial application flight, the airplane pitched up into a nose high "almost vertical" attitude, stalled, and impacted the terrain. A witness stated, "the airplane was executing maneuvers like that of an air show, when the pilot pulls [the airplane] straight up and comes straight down." No anomalies were noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact.
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: 4,591 hours in all; 854 in this make and model; 350 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 4,562 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 2, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,500 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 9,700 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Clovis NM at 12:45 pm
Weather at the time
- Wind: from 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 3:15 pm from CVN
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.
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.