David F. Roberson
Agency patch
Air Operations Supervisor

David F. Roberson

Accident
End of Watch July 14, 1989
Tour of Duty 23 yrs
The Vigil Panel 134 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Air Operations Supervisor David Roberson was killed in an airplane crash while tracking a group of illegal aliens near San Luis, Arizona, approximately four miles north of the Mexican border. The Christen A-1 Husky single-engine plane he was piloting stalled, causing it to crash at a steep angle and burst into flames. Supervisor Roberson had served with the United States Border Patrol for 23 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-79DE761D
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

23 years. You could have gone home.
Air Operations Supervisor Roberson gave the United States Department of Justice 23 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Air Operations Supervisor Roberson.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdjinsusbpfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 14, 1989
Tour of Duty 23 yrs
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Air Operations Supervisor David F. Roberson is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 46 of 68 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol
46
of 68 officers
67.6% Accident
DC — Statewide
454
of 1,419 officers
32% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David F. Roberson's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How David F. Roberson Compares

Years of Service
23
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David F. Roberson is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location