# NTSB investigations: Piper PA-25-235: Low altitude operation/event

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB CEN25LA336](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA336.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Argusville, ND · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 23, 2025 · N7239Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering at low altitude.
- [NTSB CEN23LA357](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23LA357.md): Piper PA25 · Hartington, NE · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 8, 2023 · N8847L · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s misperception of the rising terrain resulting in a collision with crops and terrain.
- [NTSB ERA19FA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19FA112.md): Piper PA25 · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Mar 1, 2019 · N145AB · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain proper altitude and clearance while maneuvering during a banner tow flight, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a 19-story building in a heavily congested area. Contributing to the accident were the easterly wind…
- [NTSB CEN17LA272](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA272.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Pierce, NE · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 18, 2017 · N7388Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees during a low-level agricultural aerial application flight.
- [NTSB CEN14FA230](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14FA230.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Northglenn, CO · Accident · No injuries · Field investigation · Final report · May 5, 2014 · N4519Y · Destroyed
  > The pilot's decision to operate the banner-tow flight below the minimum safe altitude specified by federal regulation, which likely limited his ability to recover from a potential loss of airspeed due to a gusting wind condition. Also causal was the pilot’s…
- [NTSB CEN13FA259](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA259.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Lamar, MO · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · May 5, 2013 · N82509 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's in-flight loss of control, which was likely due to a sudden cardiac event.
- [NTSB CEN11LA581](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA581.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Whitewood, SD · Accident · 1 fatal · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 20, 2011 · N7051Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's collision with terrain for undetermined reasons.
- [NTSB CEN09CA483](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA483.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Royal, IA · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Aug 3, 2009 · N6701Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the crop during an aerial application maneuver.
- [NTSB CHI08CA243](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08CA243.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Cosmos, MN · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Aug 11, 2008 · N7297Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the guide wire while maneuvering on an aerial application flight. Contributing to the accident was the presence of the guide wire.
- [NTSB DEN08CA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN08CA084.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Mountain Grove, MO · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · May 5, 2008 · N6944Z · Substantial damage
  > the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the power line.
- [NTSB CHI08LA124](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08LA124.md): Piper PA-25-235 · New Lisbon, WI · Accident · 1 fatal · Limited investigation · Final report · May 5, 2008 · N4352Y · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude during a course reversal at the completion of an agricultural spray run.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('7102504')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '220' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence?model=7102504

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