Air Tractor AT-301 accident near Meadow, Texas, September 3, 1996
On September 3, 1996 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-301, registered N3166H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Meadow, 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 clearance from the transmission wire. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1996 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Meadow, 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
- N3166H · no longer on the register · serial 301-0549
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, he arrived at the field and made a complete circuit of the job to locate all wires. The pilot stated that there were large east-west power lines on the north edge of the field and small east-west wires along the south end of the flat field. The pilot flew the first application swath south bound by flying under large wires, across the field, and over small wires on the south end of the field. He then turned the airplane around for the second swath and reversed the application pattern. On the north end of the field, the airplane's vertical stabilizer hit the large wires, destroying the fin and removing the rudder. The pilot reported that the airplane would only fly in a circle, so he dumped the plane's load and performed a forced landing to a cotton field.
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: 6,272 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 6,272 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,188 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 27, 1996; 163 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Q26 Brownfield TX at 7:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
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 N3166H 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.