Air Tractor AT-400A accident near Lane City, Texas, June 9, 1983
On June 9, 1983 at about 10:20 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-400A, registered N31619, was destroyed in an accident near Lane City, 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 9, 1983 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Lane City, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-400A
- Registration
- N31619 · no longer on the register · serial 400A-0499
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS LEADING A FLT OF 2 ACFT ON AN AERIAL APPLICATION MISSION. THE PLT OF THE 2ND ACFT STATED THAT AT THE END OF A SWATH RUN, THE LEAD ACFT PULLED UP TO AN ALMOST VERTICAL ATTITUDE & TO AN ALT OF BETWEEN 300 & 400 FT AGL. AT THAT TIME, THE PLANE STALLED & CONTINUED OVER ONTO ITS BACK, THEN ENTERED AN INVERTED SPIN. REPORTEDLY, THE SPIN CONTINUED FOR ABOUT 1 1/2 TURNS UNTIL THE ACFT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN, SLIGHTLY INVERTED, ATTITUDE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE PLT WAS HIGHLY QUALIFIED IN AG OPERATIONS, BUT HAD ONLY RECENTLY STARTED FLYING TURBINED POWER ACFT. REPORTEDLY, HE HAD RECEIVED NO FORMAL TRAINING IN THIS MODEL OF THE ACFT NOR IN THE OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF TURBINE ENGS. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE WAS MADE, BUT NO PREIMPACT, MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND.
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: 13,397 hours in all; 73 in this make and model; 13,397 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 73 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1983; 73 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Wharton TX at 10:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:47 pm from HOU, 58 miles away
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.