- Date
- July 8, 1989, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Goodway, AL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6941ZPiper PA-25-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890708021109A
- Case key
- 7836
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The in-flight separation of the left wing which failed because of a corrosion induced fatigue fracture.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During an aerial application flight, the left wing separated and the aircraft hit the top of a house. Examination of the wing revealed a fatigue fracture in the wing's lower spar cap. Metallurgical examination of the fracture revealed that it originated on opposite sides of a rivet hole. Intergranular corrosion was found at one of the high cycle fatigue fracture origins. The opposite fracture origin had been mechanically mutilated. In aug 1977, all-metal wings were installed on the airplane per a supplemental type certificate.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6941Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-2686
- Airframe hours
- 8,216
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B2B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Danny H. Booker
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 19, 1989 · 115 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Goodway, AL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.