MKC82DA097

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-25-235 · Kimball, NE · June 5, 1982

Accident · Minor injuriesFinal report
Date
June 5, 1982, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC)
Place
Kimball, NE
Injuries
1 minor
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N6997ZPiper PA-25-235
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 5, 1983
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19820605021679A
Case key
71266

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.

Loss of engine powerTakeoff - initial climb
Weather condition - high density altitude
Miscellaneous - undeterminedCause
Nose overLanding - roll
Aborted takeoff - delayedPilot in commandCause
Load jettison - not performedPilot in commandFactor
Terrain condition - softFactor

Analysis

The aircraft was loaded with 100 gallons of 2-4-D and 40 gallons of fuel. During the preflight run-up check, the pilot noted a mag drop of 225 RPM. He stated that leaning the fuel mixture cleared the excessive decrease in RPM, and he observed 2500 RPM on the engine tachometer during the takeoff roll. The pilot said the aircraft did not seem to want to gain speed like it should, and he rolled about 2700 ft before lift-off. He reported that after lift-off, the aircraft did not gain speed as he climbed to about 75 ft AGL, and the engine popped and sputtered as the plane settled. During a landing in a soft field, the aircraft nosed over and the pilot was soaked with the 2-4-D chemical. The pilot reported that he would have dumped his load if he had a little more time. An examination and operational check of the engine revealed no precrash malfunction of failure. The takeoff performance data showed that the acft should have been able to clear a 50 ft obstacle in 1350 ft. the density altitude was about 6500 ft MSL.

Aircraft

Registration
N6997Z
Reported as
Piper PA-25-235
Category
Airplane
Serial number
25-2749
Airframe hours
3,428
Engine
Lycoming O-540-B2B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Aerial application · Part 137
Operator
Walts Ag Service
Registered owner
Walts Ag Service
Departed
4V7 · Kimball, NE
Destination
4V7 · Kimball, NE
Airport
4V7 · Kimball Municipal, runway 11, 3,800 × 0 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
31
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Flight hours
452 total · 30 in this make and model · 334 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
360° at 8 knots
Visibility
40 statute miles
Temperature
154 °F

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 N6997Z · 2

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.