# Accident 20090827049249A: Piper PA-25-235, Bainbridge, GA, August 27, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 27, 2009, 09:30 local time
- Place: Bainbridge, GA
- Airport: Decatur County Ind. Air Park
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.9714° N, 84.6375° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.9714&lon=-84.6375&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7339Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7339Z-2013-10-24) (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 PA-25-235
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Unknown or foreign certificate
- Pilot flight hours: 333 total, 9 in this make and model, 139 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA09LA490](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA490) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090827049249A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 27, 2009, AT APPROXIMATELY 09:30 AM EASTERN STANDARD TIME, AIRCRAFT N7339Z WAS PRACTICING AERIAL APPLICATION (SPRAYING) ON A FARM FIELD THREE MILES EAST OF BAINBRIDGE AIRPORT. PILOTED BY A FOREIGN (CANADIAN) PILOT, MICHAEL MARINUS VANDENBERG, THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED INTO FIELD FOR THE SEVENTH PRACTICE PASS SPRAYING WATER.  THE FIELD WAS APPROXIMATELY 3,200 FEET LONG WITH TREES AT BOTH ENDS.  AT THE 3/4 MARK, PASSING ACROSS THE FIELD, THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN SAID FIELD.  THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN AT APPROXIMATELY 185 FEET FROM THE TREE LINE.  THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE AIRCRAFT AND GROUND MANEUVERED BETWEEN TWO TREES, CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT WINGS.  THE PROP INDICATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT MAKING POWER. PROP HAD ONE TIP, SLIGHTLY BENT BACKWARDS FOUR INCHES FROM TIP. THE RIGHT WING CAME INTO CONTACT FIRST AND DAMAGED THE OUTBOARD SECTION OF THE WING.   THE RIGHT WING TIP FAIRING CAME OFF THE WING COMING TO REST AT BASE OF SAID TREE.  THE LEFT WING IMPACTED A TREE JUST OUTBOARD OF THE FUSELAGE, BENDING THE SPAR / WING FORWARD AT WHICH, THE TREE WAS SEVERED IN HALF.  AIRCRAFT TURNED TO THE LEFT ABOUT 40 DEGREES, TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET AND COMING TO REST ON AN OLD TREE PILE.

## 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 ERA09LA490](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA490), Aug 27, 2009: Piper PA-25-235 (N7339Z), Bainbridge, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A total loss of engine power due to the loss of camshaft timing as a result of the displacement of the idler gear assembly.

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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