Accident Won't Be Investigated Until After The Government Shutdown Ends

The pilot of a cropduster which went down in a cotton field in Robinson, TX south of Waco was largely uninjured, and was flying again the next day, albeit in a different airplane.

The airplane didn't fare so well. It landed upside down in the cotton field it was working when it went down ... and officials say that's where it will stay until after the government goes back to work.

The shutdown has halted investigations such as this by the FAA and NTSB. Television station KTWX reports that the pilot, 49-year-old Vincent Matthews of Gause, TX, said a wind gust forced one of the wings of his airplane to touch the ground and it flipped, coming to rest upside down in the field. He reportedly suffered bumps and bruises, but went back to work the next day. Department of Public Safety trooper D.L. Wilson told the station Wednesday that the plane will not be moved until the FAA can investigate.

The airplane, valued at about $160,000, is  owned by Corpoa Aerial Service.

FMI: www.faa.gov