Piper PA-36-300 N3789E

Summary

On 6 August 2013 at about 14:56 local time, a Piper PA-36-300 registered N3789E, operated by Roger Zeledon, was involved in an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, 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

6 August 2013 at 14:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

31.8828, -106.6311

Aircraft

Piper PA-36-300

Registration

N3789E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Roger Zeledon

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Miguel → San Miguel

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA464

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a tree at the completion of an agricultural spray run. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to accept a high level of risk to spray a small field bordered by multiple obstacles and his fatigue due to interrupted sleep the night before the accident.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting an agricultural spray operation to a small field with obstacles, including a power line, trees, and heavy construction equipment. His pull-up from the spray pass was too late and the airplane struck a tree on the edge of the field. Due to the tree strike, the pilot lost roll control and maneuvered to a forced landing, during which the airplane cartwheeled. The pilot stated that he accepted a high level of risk to spray the small, tightly confined field, which he regretted. Factoring in his decision were multiple requests to spray the field by a persistent farm owner. Multiple sleep interruptions occurred on the night prior to the accident, which would have affected both the quality and amount of sleep the pilot obtained during his reported sleep opportunity. The resultant fatigue would have likely affected both the pilot’s decision making and flying performance on the day of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.