LAFAYETTE, Ind. ― Robert Ray Cottingham took off in his crop duster from an Attica airport about 5:40 p.m. July 22. He had about 50 minutes left to live, according to a preliminary report from the ...

Aerial application of pesticides, or crop dusting, is a crucial part of modern agriculture, increasing crop yields and reducing losses by billions of dollars annually. The job of an ag pilot is ...

Crop dusters — or aerial applicators, which is their official name — also say they need thick skin to cope with what they call misinformation against their businesses. Environmentalists peg them as ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Residents can expect to once again see yellow planes swooping low over fields as another season of crop-dusting kicks off. "I realize the general public is afraid of us," said Dennis ...

BEAMAN, Iowa --- The risks are great. The job is seasonal, with this year's work basically finished. But crop-dusters --- "aerial applicators" in the modern parlance --- will say there's a real "high" ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Stephen Austin's job has been up and down since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. On Monday it was down. He and other Bootheel crop-dusters, along with their counterparts nationwide, ...

OXFORD, Ind. ― A 35-year-old man crop dusting in southeastern Benton County died Monday evening after his plane crashed, Benton County Coroner Matt Rosenberger said. The yellow single-engine plane ...