19990713009009A

Acft struck trees during aerial application, crashed, and burned, other circumstances are unknown. (.19) on July 13, 1999, at 0815 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 188B, N731VR, collided with the ground following an aerial application maneuver in Panther Burn, Mississippi. The airplane was operated by the commercial pilot under the provisions of title 14 CFR part 137, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local agricultural application flight. The pilot received serious injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. According to the FAA inspector on scene, the aircraft was found about 1/2 mile northeast of the spraying field. At this time, the pilot's condition prevented an interview to determine why he was off course. (.4)the pilot departed the airstrip with a load of 57 gallons of fyfanon, a chemical used to spray boll weevils. After performing a series of spray runs, the airplane veered off course, collided with a tree line, then impacted the ground and burned. A review of the airplane's maintenance records disclosed that the differential global position system (dgps) installed on the airplane had been serviced twice during the week leading to the accident. The dgps is installed on a shelf behind the pilot's seat near where the shoulder harness is attached, and was required to be operational for use during the flight under the conditions of the spraying contract. According to stored information downloaded from the dgps, the lock on the dgps was lost shortly after the pilot had completed a right turn on the southeast side of the field. The airplane was located one and a half miles northwest of where the last dgps signal was received.