# Accident 19990521020929A: Piper PA25260, Richfield, UT, May 21, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 21, 1999, 06:46 local time
- Place: Richfield, UT
- Airport: Richfield Municipal Aprt
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: D49G
- Location: 38.7502° N, 112.1008° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7502&lon=-112.1008&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8531L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8531L-2000-02-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-25-260 (registry code 7102508, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA25260
- Reported engine: LYC O540G1A5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 605 total, 105 in this make and model, 29 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99LA079](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA079) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990521020929A

## Narrative

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

ON MAY 21, 1999, AT 0646 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-25-260, N8531L, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING AN IN-FLIGHT COLLISION WITH WIRES WHILE MANEUVERING 6 MILES NORTH OF THE RICHFIELD MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, RICHFIELD, UTAH. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT ABOARD, WAS NOT INJURED.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL AREA AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 137.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE RICHFIELD AIRPORT AT 0630.  NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.  ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE WAS SPRAYING A FIELD WITH FURADAN (A WEED KILLER) WHEN THE LANDING GEAR WHEELS COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS ABLE TO FLY THE AIRCRAFT FOR A SHORT TIME BEFORE LOSING CONTROL, AND THE AIRCRAFT THEN IMPACTED THE GROUND. (.4) THE PILOT WAS PERFORMING AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT AND HAD JUST PERFORMED HIS FOURTH PASS SPRAYING A FIELD. WHILE PULLING UP OUT OF THE FIELD, HE CAUGHT A POWER LINE WITH THE LANDING GEAR. HE WAS ABLE TO FLY FOR A SHORT TIME BUT WAS UNABLE TO ADEQUATELY CONTROL THE AIRCRAFT, AND PERFORMED A FORCED LANDING IN THE FIELD. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND, DAMAGING THE ENGINE, PROPE LLER, AND THE LANDING GEAR. THE PILOT HAD TWO ADDITIONAL ACCIDENTS WITHIN A YEAR. FOLLOWING HIS LATEST ACCIDENT, THE PILOT VERBALLY AGREED TO VOLUNTARILY SURRENDER HIS AERIAL APPLICATION OPERATING CERTIFICATE TO, AND AT THE REQUEST OF, THE FAA. AS OF THIS WRITING, THE PILOT HAD NOT YET RENDERED HIS CERTIFICATE.

## 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 DEN99LA079](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA079), May 21, 1999: Piper PA-25-260 (N8531L), Richfield, UT, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from the wires while maneuvering during an aerial application.

## Other reports on N8531L (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19980616025639A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980616025639A), Jun 16, 1998: Piper PA25260 (N8531L), Douglas, WY, Substantial damage. Out of fuel landed in tall grass field. Refueled. Took off. Struck a ridge on climbout. Bushes slowed takeoff. (.4)while on a ferry flight, approximately 20…

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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