Piper PA-25-235 N7739Z

Summary

On 12 May 2007 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N7739Z was involved in an accident near Delta, Utah, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 May 2007 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Delta, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Delta Municipal Airport (DTA)

Coordinates

39.3833, -112.5000

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N7739Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Delta → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07LA163

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in a stall and collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness stated that he observed the airplane begin a climb at the end of a spray run on the field. It subsequently made an abrupt bank to the right in a nose high attitude, and then dove toward the terrain. A post impact fire consumed the airplane. The orientation of the wreckage was consistent with the pilot being in a course reversal turn back toward the field for another spray pass at the time of impact. The pilot was an airline pilot and had been conducting agricultural operations part time for the past 5 years and had accumulated about 200 hours in the accident make and model airplane. The accident flight was the first time the pilot had sprayed that specific field. No unusual meteorological phenomena was reported by the closest weather station or observed by witnesses to the accident. An examination of the wreckage revealed that all major components were accounted for at the accident site; flight control continuity could not be established due to the extensive fragmentation and thermal damage of the wreckage. The wreckage and ground scars were consistent with the airplane impacting the terrain in a nose-low, almost vertical attitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.