Air Tractor AT-301 accident near Dalhart, Texas, August 22, 1995
On August 22, 1995 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-301, registered N3169U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dalhart, 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 control of the airplane during takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 22, 1995 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Dalhart, 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
- N3169U · registry record · serial 301-0577
- 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 pilot was taking off from the grassy edge of a plowed field. He reported that just as the tail lifted, the left wing struck the ground and the right wing hit a fence.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 9,800 as pilot in command; 73 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,952 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 6, 1995; 374 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DHT at 11:45 am
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.
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.