Pilot Landed Safely After Taking Midair Gunfire; FBI and FAA Join Probe

Authorities are still confused after a crop-dusting aircraft was shot at while flying over Boone County, Indiana, on Friday, July 18. The Thrush S2R-510, registered as N912MC and owned by Mid Continent Aircraft Corp, was conducting agricultural operations near State Road 32 and State Road 75 when the incident occurred.

Fortunately, the pilot was able to land safely, and no injuries were reported.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the incident and is now seeking help from the public. The FBI and FAA have been notified and are assisting with the ongoing investigation. While the Sheriff’s Office has not released many details, they did share photos showing bullet damage to the aircraft’s interior, including punctures through structural and control surfaces.

Flight tracking data shows the plane had departed Edgar County Airport (PRG) in Illinois and made several passes over farmland in Boone County before returning. It is a common flight profile for aerial application, or crop dusting, which often involves repeated low-altitude laps over target fields.

The aircraft involved is part of the Thrush line, a widely used brand in the agricultural aviation industry. The company’s design boasts reliability, global trust, and "no FAA airworthiness directives in over a decade," though this incident was clearly not part of the normal operating envelope.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has information to contact them at 765-482-1412 (option 6). For now, officials are treating the shooting as a criminal matter, with federal authorities monitoring the situation closely due to its implications for aviation safety.

While crop dusters are a regular part of rural life in Indiana during the summer months, this kind of midair threat is not. So, hoping someone saw or heard something unusual in the area could be law enforcement's only way to find whoever thought firing at a plane was a good idea.

FMI: www.boonecountyindianasheriff.com