Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to maneuver at a low altitude and in close proximity to a wind turbine undergoing maintenance, which resulted in a collision with a tagline rope being held by a worker on the ground and serious injury to the worker.
NTSB analysis
The pilot was returning from a local aerial application flight when he decided to fly at low altitude past a wind turbine that he believed his friend was working on. The airplane's right wing collided with a tagline rope that was attached to one of the wind turbine blades and being held by a worker on the ground. The worker was thrown about 20 ft and sustained several fractured vertebrae and a broken leg. The airplane's right wing sustained minor damage; however, the pilot was able to make a normal landing at his intended destination without incident.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN20LA013 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 22, 2019
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Lamesa, Texas
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Air Tractor AT 502
- N-number
- N9143F
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1992
- Damage
- Minor
- Operating rule
- Part 137 (agricultural)
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial application
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.