Piper PA36 N57607

Summary

On 18 August 2020 at about 16:00 local time, a Piper PA36 registered N57607, operated by Green Medows Aviation, was involved in an accident near Ord, Nebraska, 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

18 August 2020 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Ord, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Evelyn Sharp Field Airport (ODX)

Coordinates

41.6236, -98.9519

Aircraft

Piper PA36

Registration

N57607

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Green Medows Aviation

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ord → Ord

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA381

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed while in a turn during initial climb and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing on an agricultural flight when the airplane’s airspeed began to decrease while in a turn shortly after takeoff. The pilot confirmed that the engine and propeller were operating normally at takeoff power, but the airspeed continued to decrease closer to an aerodynamic stall speed while in the turn. The pilot chose not to dump the load of liquid herbicide because he thought it might have had a negative effect on controlling the airplane and cause it to enter an aerodynamic stall. The airplane’s right wing dropped shortly before it impacted with the ground, which the pilot attributed to the airplane flying at or near aerodynamic stall. The airplane collided with terrain in a right wing down attitude. The airplane’s fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged during the accident. The pilot stated that he previously flew the airplane with similar or heavier loads without any adverse effects to airplane performance. He reported that the weather conditions earlier in the morning included rain showers associated with the passage of a weather front; however, at the time of the accident, the wind was calm and there was no precipitation. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane or its engine during the flight. Postaccident examination of the airplane and its engine did not reveal any evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have prevented normal flight. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the pilot did not maintain adequate airspeed while in the turn during initial climb, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude from which a recovery was not possible.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.