Piper PA-25-235 N8622L

Summary

On 16 August 1997 at about 14:45 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N8622L was involved in an accident near Bradshaw, Nebraska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 August 1997 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Bradshaw, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

40.9398, -97.7607

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N8622L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sutton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA259

Nobody was injured.

the pilot not maintaining clearance from the terrain. Factors contributing to this accident were the pilot's diverted attention due to the problems with his global positioning flagger equipment and the other ag- airplane, and the crop.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

In his written statement, the pilot said that while en route to the fields to be sprayed, he was distracted by problems with the on board 'global positioning flagger' equipment. 'I called the base to get assistance on getting the light bar to work. After circling the field several times, I discovered that I had inadvertently turned the light bar off and I switched it back on.' The pilot circled around to re-enter the field on which he made his first aerial application pass. He reported that upon completing his second pass he observed another ag-plane entering the area. The pilot reported that because of the distraction, and the downwind turn, he was '...wide off my mark.' The pilot maneuvered the airplane to line up on the field. 'As I entered the field, I realized that I was having a problem with lift. But before I was able to increase throttle or dump the load, the plane was starting to sink in the corn.' The airplane then impacted into the field and came to a stop. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.