Piper PA-36-285 N57596

Summary

On 29 June 2000 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA-36-285 registered N57596 was involved in an accident near Bovina, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 June 2000 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bovina, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Rhodes Crop Care (NONE)

Coordinates

34.5107, -102.8801

Aircraft

Piper PA-36-285

Registration

N57596

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW00LA189

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in the pilot exceeding the aircraft's takeoff performance. Factors were the high density altitude and the pilot's delayed load jettison.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The agricultural airplane, carrying a full load of fertilizer, 'could not fly out of ground effect' during takeoff from a private airstrip. As the airplane neared the end of the airstrip and encroached on an irrigation system, the pilot pulled the nose of the airplane up and initiated a load dump. The pilot stated that he did not put the dump handle in the emergency dump position, and the fertilizer 'was not dumped quick enough.' The airplane stalled after clearing the irrigation system and impacted the ground. The density altitude, at the time of the accident, was calculated by the NTSB investigator-in-charge to be approximately 5,730 feet. The pilot reported that a 'lighter load for conditions' would have prevented this accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.