# Accident 19980402012649A: Piper PA25235, Bainbridge, GA, April 2, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 2, 1998, 08:00 local time - Place: Bainbridge, GA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Practice Training Manuevers - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 30.9049° N, 84.5730° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Bainbridge, GA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.9049&lon=-84.5730&mi=10 - Aircraft: N6847Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6847Z-2013-05-02) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-25-235 (registry code 7102504, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25-235) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA25235 - Reported engine: LYC O540B2C5 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 165 total, 3 in this make and model, 81 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA115](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA115) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980402012649A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AG STUDENT STALLED AND CRASHED DURING TURN AROUND. SEAT BELT SHOULDER HARNESS NOT FASTENED. CFI ON RADIO ON GROUND. (.4)ACCORDING TO THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI), WITNESS, THE PILOT WAS BEING TRAINED IN AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS, AND WAS IN RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CFI WHO WAS SUPERVISING THE OPERATION. THE WITNESSES SAID THE AIRPLANE MADE A TURN AT THE END OF A FIELD, APPEARED TO STALL, IMPACTED THE GROUND AND BURNED. THE AIRPLANE WAS LAST SEEN ABOUT 150 TO 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND IN A TURN. THE FLIGHT HAD DEPARTED WITH FULL FUEL AND 100 GALLONS OF WATER. THE CFI WAS TO OBSERVE FROM THE GROUND, THE PILOT FLY A PIPER PAWNEE AIRCRAFT INTO A LOCAL FARMERS FIELD, WHILE HE PRACTICED SIMULATED SPRAY RUNS, AERIAL APPLICATOR MANEUVERS, BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE FIELD. ACCORDING TO THE CFI, HE HAD A TWO-WAY HAND-HELD RADIO, AND '...WE EACH ACKNOWLEDGED A GOOD RADIO CHECK.' THE CFI SAID HE THEN TOLD THE PILOT HE SHOULD TAKEOFF AND FLY TO THE FIELD, AND THE CFI DROVE HIS TRUCK TO THE FIELD TO OBSERVE HIS PROGRESS. AS THE CFI APPROACHED THE EDGE OF THE FIELD HE SAID, THE PILOT WAS MAKING HIS FIRST PASS INTO THE FIELD FROM EAST TO WEST ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE FIELD, '...HE LOOKED STEADY AND AT A SAFE HEIGHT OF ABOUT 15-20 FEET. HE EXITED TO THE WEST END OF THE FIELD CORRECTLY AND TURNED 45 DEGREES TO THE LEFT AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 150-200 FEET ABOVE THE TREES AND EXTENDED IN A SOUTHWESTERLY DIRECTION FOR ABOUT 4-5 SECONDS BEFORE INITIATING A RIGHT HAND REVERSAL BACK INTO THE FEILD. WHILE HIS AIRCRAFT WAS IN A RIGHT, MEDIUM-BANKED [SIC] (30 DEGREES) LEVEL TURN, I DIVERTED MY ATTENTION MOMENTARILY FROM THE AIRCRAFT TO PARK MY TRUCK. AFTER ONLY ABOUT ONLY 5 SECONDS, I LOOKED BACK INTO THE DIRECTION WHERE I HAD LAST SEEN THE OLANE, AND OBSERVED A PLUME BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM BEHIND THE TREES, RISING UP ABOUT 100 FEET FORM GROUND LEVEL.' ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR'S STATEMENT, THE ON SITE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE HOPPER WAS INTACT ANF EMPTY OF WATER. THE DUMP HANDLE WAS FOUND IN THE DUMP POSITION. THE LEAKAGE OF WATER ON THE GROUND NEAR THE CRASH SITE. THE ELEVATOR TRIM WAS FOUND IN THE NOSE DOWN POSITION. THE ELEVATOR, RUDDER, AND AILERON CONTINUITY WAS ESTIBLISHED. THE SEAT BELT WAS FOUND IN LOCKED POSITION [ATTACHED], ON THE GROUND, INSIDE THE COCKPIT, AND THE BODY OF THE PILOT SHOWED NO EVIDEN CE OF THE SEAT BELT OR HRNESS BEING ATTACHED. THE COCKPIT FRAME WORK, INERTIAL REEL GEAR SHIFT, AND SHOULDER HARNESS ATTACHMENT CABLE, WERE SENT TO THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY, WASHINGTON, DC, FOR EXAMINATION. THE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE INERTIAL REEL RETRACTION CABLE FAILED DUE TO WEARING OF THE CABLE, OVER AN UNDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME, AFTER WHICH THE REMAINING WIRES OF THE CABLES FAILED IN TENSILE OVERSTRESS. THERE WAS NO EVIDNECE FOUND TO SHOW THAT THE CABLE WAS TIED TO THE FRAME TUBE BEFORE OR AT THE TIEM OF ACCIDENT. NOR COULD IT BE CONFIRMED THAT THE MARKS ON THE FRAME TUBE WERE CAUSED BY THE SHOULDER HARNESS ATTACHMENT CABLE. THREE NEARLY EQUALLY SPACED MARKS ON THE TUBE WAS SUGGESTIVE OF A SERIES OF TIES, AND NOT AN INDIVIDUAL TIE FOR HOLDING SEPARATED CABLE TO THE FRAMEWORK. THE PILOT HAD FIRST SOLOED THE PAWNEE, ON APRIL 1, 1998, ADN HAD LOGGED 3.2 HOURS IN PREPARATION FOR THE SUBJECT FLIGHT. THERE WERE NO REOCRDS FOUND SHOWING THAT THE PILOT RECEIVED ANY ADDITIONAL TRAINING IN THIS MAKE/MODEL OR CATEGORY OF AIRPLANE. IN ADDITION, THE OWNER/OPERATOR OF THE AIRPALNE, AND THE PROVIDER OF THE TRAINING FOR THIS TYPE OF OPERATION WERE THE SAME. THE TRAININ G WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE MAME OF AG-FLIGHT INC. THERE IS NOTHING IN THEIR CIRCULAR THAT SAYS A PERSON APPLYING FOR TRAINING NEEDS ANY SPECIAL CERTIFICATE, A MINIMUM OF FLIGHT TIME OR SPECIAL EXPERIENCE. THE TRAINING PROGRAM WAS NOT CERTIFIED BY THE FAA, ADN IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE CERTIFIED. THE PILOT HAD A TOTAL OF 165 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME, AND A TOTAL OF 3.3 HOURS INTHIS MAKE AND MODEL AIRPLANE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA98LA115](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA115), Apr 2, 1998: Piper PA-25-235 (N6847Z), Bainbridge, GA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack experience in this category of aircraft. An additional factor was the… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.