According to the Northern District of Texas U.S. District Attorney Sara Saldana’s office, a federal grand jury in Lubbock returned an indictment Wednesday charging 68-year-old James R. Cate of Talpa with one count of destruction of an aircraft.
The indictment alleges that Cate damaged an Air Tractor AT-502B Aircraft on Feb. 29, 2012 by shooting at the aircraft while it in the air. The airplane is a civil aircraft used in interstate commerce. Cate is accused of shooting the aircraft with a 25-06 rifle while it was spraying a field adjacent to his own property.
According to an earlier report, one bullet hit the propeller, entered the fuselage near the engine, hit the 500-gallon chemical hopper, and ricocheted into the cockpit, where it went through the pilot’s pants leg.
Cate faces up to twenty years in prison, along with a possible $250,000 fine if he’s convicted.
