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20000623034719I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Airtrc AT-301 · Billingsley, AL · June 23, 2000

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
June 23, 2000 · 19:00 local
Place
Billingsley, AL
Phase of flight
Low Level Operations
Operating rules
Agricultural (Part 137)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N8639S
Reported as
Airtrc AT301
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
6,350 total3,000 in this make and model110 in the last 90 days
N8639SRegistered now · Air Tractor AT-301S/N 301-0169 · Built 1978Airframe modelAir Tractor AT-301Engine modelPratt & Whitney R1340 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23)While spraying a watermelon field in billingsely, Alabama, N8639S, an air tractor, sustained four bullet hits from a possible automatic weapon. The pilot heard the bullets hit the aircraft. One bullet grazed the pilots arm when it shattered the plexglas and lodged itself in the tachometer. The pilot circled the area and saw someone with a weapon shooting at him. The autauga sheriff's department along with montgomery federal bureau of investigation are investigating.

As the FAA filed it

(-23)WHILE SPRAYING A WATERMELON FIELD IN BILLINGSELY, ALABAMA, N8639S, AN AIR TRACTOR, SUSTAINED FOUR BULLET HITS FROM A POSSIBLE AUTOMATIC WEAPON. THE PILOT HEARD THE BULLETS HIT THE AIRCRAFT. ONE BULLET GRAZED THE PILOTS ARM WHEN IT SHATTERED THE PLEXGLAS AND LODGED ITSELF IN THE TACHOMETER. THE PILOT CIRCLED THE AREA AND SAW SOMEONE WITH A WEAPON SHOOTING AT HIM. THE AUTAUGA SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT ALONG WITH MONTGOMERY FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION ARE INVESTIGATING.