# Accident 19980403005929A: Piper PA25235, Sabetha, KS, April 3, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 3, 1998, 10:00 local time
- Place: Sabetha, KS
- Airport: Sabetha Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.8991° N, 95.7908° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.8991&lon=-95.7908&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7108Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7108Z-1998-12-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-25-235 (registry code 7102504, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA25235
- Reported engine: LYC O540G1A5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,332 total, 40 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA116](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA116) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980403005929A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ACFT ENGINE QUIT DURING AERIAL APPLICATION, AND THE ACFT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A FIELD, SABETHA, KS (.4) THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT LOST ENGINE POWER WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR THE AIRPORT AND HE WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE LANDED THE AIRPLANE IN A PASTURE AND THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST AFTER A SHORT SLIDE. THE PURPOSE OF THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT WAS TO CALIBRATE THE SPRAYERS ON THE AIRCRAFT. THE ACCIDENT ENGINE WAS INSPECTED BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION AMINISTRATION (FAA) FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE (FSDO), WICHITA, KANSAS, AND NO ANOMALIES WERE FOUND. (-23) ON APRIL 3, 1998, AT 1000 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME (CST), A PIPER PA-25-235, N7108Z, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED FOLLOWING A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND SUBSEQUENT FORCED LANDING IN A FARMER'S FIELD. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT REPORTED NO INJURIES.  THE 14 CFT PART 137 AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WAS NOT OPERATING ON A FLIGHT PLAN.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE FLIGHT DEPARTED SABETHA, KANSAS, AT 0955 CST.  INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCIDENT FOUND THE ENGINE CAPABLE OF OPERATING. MR. ADMUNSON, STATED DURING THE INTERVIEW THAT BEFORE THE ENGINE QUIT, IT AC TED LIKE IT WAS INGESTING WATER. THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING THE PREFLIGHT, ALTHOUGH THOROUGH, MAY NOT HAVE ALLOWED ENOUGH TIME TO DRAIN ALL THE WATER OUT OF THE FUEL TANK.  THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN PARKED OUTSIDE DURING THE WINTER AND HAD BEEN EXPOSED TO RAIN AND SNOW.

## 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 CHI98LA116](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA116), Apr 3, 1998: Piper PA-25-235 (N7108Z), Sabetha, KS, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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.

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