Piper PA-25-235 N7388Z

Summary

On 18 July 2017 at about 18:30 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N7388Z, operated by Bloomfield AG and Aerial Service, was involved in an accident near Pierce, Nebraska, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 July 2017 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pierce, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

42.2269, -97.6842

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N7388Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Bloomfield AG and Aerial Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bloomfield → Bloomfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA272

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees during a low-level agricultural aerial application flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting an agricultural aerial application flight. A witness stated that he observed the airplane as it started spraying chemical along the east side of a cornfield. The airplane made a turn at the north end of the field and then started a second pass heading south. When the airplane was about midway down the field, the witness observed blue smoke coming from the airplane for a distance of about 150 to 200 ft. (The airplane was equipped with a smoke marker, which produced blue smoke to aid in lining up spray runs and provide wind drift indications near the ground.) The witness estimated that the airplane's speed was about 100 mph at that time. The airplane then clipped a tree, which was about 30 to 40 ft in height, at the south end of the field; rolled inverted; and impacted terrain. This witness did not see the airplane crash because he lost sight of the airplane behind a line of trees. Two other witnesses stated that they had heard a "popping" noise before the airplane crashed. The first witness stated that he did not hear anything out of the ordinary, including the reported popping noise, but indicated that his all-terrain vehicle and its radio were operating at the time. A postaccident examination of the airplane wreckage found the airplane's right position light along with one-quarter of the right wingtip lying next to the base of the tree that was struck. The main wreckage was found about 360 ft from the tree. The damage to the airplane was consistent with a steep, nose-down attitude at the time of ground impact. The flight controls exhibited continuity from the cockpit to the control surfaces. The propeller blades exhibited "S" bending and chordwise scratching, which was consistent with the engine producing power at the time of impact. The pilot had flown 17.5 hours in the accident airplane before the accident occurred, which was also his total flight experience as an agricultural pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.