Air Tractor AT301 accident near Anahuac, Texas, May 17, 1985
On May 17, 1985 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT301, registered N1361E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anahuac, Texas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- May 17, 1985 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Anahuac, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT301
- Registration
- N1361E · no longer on the register · serial 205
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND AFTER THE ENGINE REPORTEDLY LOST POWER FOR AN UNDETERMINED REASON. DUE TO THE LOW ALTITUDE WHILE APPLYING FERTILIZER THE ACFT HAD TO BE LANDED IN THE PATH OF FLT.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 3,070 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 12,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 4, 1985; 150 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; scat
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 pm
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 N1361E 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.