Weldon Smith

Pilot Weldon Smith was killed in a plane crash while tracking illegal aliens near Hebbronville. Pilot Smith was working with ground agents from the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station. They were trailing aliens on the Gallagor Ranch, about 10 miles north of Guerra, Jim Hogg County, Texas. Pilot Smith returned to his station in McAllen to refuel. As he was returning to the initial search area, he started relaying the location of the aliens to the agents when he quit transmitting mid-sentence. The agents saw the smoke and ran toward it. The plane was engulfed in flames, destroyed by the impact and fire. Pilot Smith died on initial impact. A Justice of the Peace from Hebbronville, Texas, held an inquest upon arrival at the scene of the accident and pronounced Pilot Smith dead. Subsequent investigation determined that the aircraft had stalled, and the pilot was unable to recover from the stall. Pilot Smith was a United States Army veteran who had served with the United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol for almost nine years assigned to the McAllen Sector and previously served with the Texas Department of Public Safety for 9 1/2 years. He is survived by his wife, two sons, four daughters, parents, three brothers, and two sisters. One son became a pilot and the other retired as a Federal Agent. Pilot Smith was buried in Valley Memorial Gardens in McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas.