- Date
- June 11, 1996, 05:35 local (10:35 UTC)
- Place
- Cleveland, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9844PPiper PA-25
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 3, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960611013209A
- Case key
- 10272
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
failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient altitude or clearance from trees during an aerial application operation. The wires and trees (obstructions) were related factors.
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 that he was trying to spray a very small area of a field, which had wires on one end and trees on the other end. He reported that after descending down to the field, the airplane 'mushed,' and he was unable to climb the airplane quick enough to clear the top of the trees. The pilot did not report any malfunction of the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On June 11, 1996, at 0535 central daylight time (cdt), a Piper PA25, N9844P, was destroyed when the airplane impacted with trees at the end of a field, near Cleveland, North Dakota. The pilot was applying weed killer to the field, at the time of the accident. The commercial rated pilot was uninjured in the accident. The 14 CFR Part 137 flight was operating in VFR conditions, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight.
The pilot reported on the NTSB form 6120.1/2 that he was trying to spray a very small area of field which had wires on one end, and trees on the other end. The pilot wrote that after descending down to the field the airplane "mushed", and he was unable to climb the airplane quick enough to clear the top of the trees at the end of the field. The pilot did not list any malfunctions with the aircraft on the accident report.
The airplane's right wing and right landing gear were bent back approximately 90 degrees. The fuselage was buckled between the tail and the cabin area. The engine was separated from the airframe, and the left wing was burned.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9844P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-7566163
- Airframe hours
- 3,925
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B2C5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Olson Aerial Applications Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1996 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- ND
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,688 total · 1,125 in this make and model · 1,628 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JMS, 22 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.