- Date
- June 22, 1982, 06:00 local (13:00 UTC)
- Place
- Imperial, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9979PPiper PA-36-285
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820622024239A
- Case key
- 71142
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 was unable to maintain airspeed and altitude after taking off from a wet and muddy runway. He closed the throttle and landed in a cotton field, but was unable to stop the aircraft before hitting a ditch. Reportedly, the previous (first) takeoff required an excessive amount of runway and the pilot had instructed the helper to reduce this load by 400 lbs. The owner said that some spray material (sulfur) had remained in the hopper after previous flights and that the helper had not looked into the hopper before adding sulfur for this flight. Also, the pilot said that he did not visually check the quantity of the load before starting his takeoff. Reportedly, the engine RPM and manifold pressure were normal during the takeoff roll, and the aircraft continued to the end of the runway where it hit a berm and became airborne in a nose high attitude. After the accident, the hopper was found to be nearly full.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9979P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-36-285
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 36-7560092
- Airframe hours
- 1,256
- Engine
- Continental 6-285A, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 137
- Operator
- Frontier Ag. Service
- Registered owner
- Frontier Ag. Service
- Departed
- Imperial, CA
- Destination
- Imperial, CA
- Airport
- Forrester & Northington, runway 9, 2,600 × 100 ft, dirt
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
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 3,891 total · 25 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Temperature
- 163 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.