Piper PA-25-235 N8600L

Summary

On 25 August 2007 at about 16:15 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N8600L, operated by Hill AG Air, was involved in an accident near Soda Springs, Idaho, 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

25 August 2007 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Soda Springs, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

42.6489, -111.6214

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N8600L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hill AG Air

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Soda Springs → Soda Springs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07CA241

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision making and subsequent loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors were the terrain conditions (soft and rough/uneven) and the tailwind weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that he departed at approximately 0820 to apply mosquito larvicide to local wetlands. Upon completion of his application runs, he started a climb towards the airport and experienced a loss of engine power. He selected a spot for a forced landing, which proved to be pasture with heavy marsh grass, and too soft and rough for a downwind landing. During rollout, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane ground looped to the right. Postaccident evaluation of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear failed, a rib was bent in the right wing, and both wing tips were damaged. The pilot reported that the cause of the engine failure was fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.