- Date
- August 25, 1990, 13:47 local (18:47 UTC)
- Place
- Lubbock, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9852PPiper PA-25-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900825036299A
- Case key
- 22966
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 adequate airspeed and altitude during a turn-around maneuver, which resulted in the aircraft stalling into the ground.
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 of an aerial application airplane completed a swath run and initiated a turn-around maneuver over an adjacent field. During the final portion of that maneuver, the airplane struck the terrain, left wing tip first. During impact, the aircraft rotated about 200 deg and came to rest about 30 ft from the initial ground contact point, then burned. A witness observed the airplane in the turn-around maneuver. He said it went 'straight up then down' before impact. The operator said he had advised the pilot before the flight that he was 'getting a bit reckless and taking unnecessary chances.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9852P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-7556175
- Airframe hours
- 2,743
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B2C5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Ag-Aerial Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 24, 1990 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- F83 · Abernathy, TX
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,405 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- LBB, 2 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.