- Date
- July 1, 1994, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Minot, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2851FCallair A9B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940701017339A
- Case key
- 9583
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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the wheat field. A factor was the turbulence.
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
The pilot reported he was flying an aerial application swath run along the side of a hill. He said he flew through a whirlwind and the boom struck the wheat. The airplane swung around and stopped in approximately 300 feet
Factual narrative
On July 1, 1994, about 1600 central daylight time, a Callair A9B airplane, N2851F, operated by Pietsch Spraying Inc. of Minot, North Dakota, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain 12 miles southwest of Minot. The commercial pilot sustained no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial application flight conducted under CFR 14 Part 137. The local flight originated at Minot International Airport about 1530. No flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported the airplane was equipped with "super booms" which trail beneath the airplane. He said he was flying low to optimize spraying along the side of a hill. On the fourth pass he "went through a whirlwind and stuck the boom in the wheat." He said the airplane swung around, impacted the terrain, and stopped in approximately 300 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2851F
- Reported as
- Callair A9B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1367
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Pietsch Spraying Inc.
- Registered owner
- Alfred C. Pietsch
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
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
- 69
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 45,000 total · 8,000 in this make and model · 45,000 as pilot in command · 220 in the last 90 days · 110 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MOT, 12 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N2851F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.