- Date
- August 13, 1983, 07:00 local (12:00 UTC)
- Place
- Whittemore, IA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8559LPiper PA-25-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830813041049A
- Case key
- 33346
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 plt reported he was making a trim swath in a low area toward rising terrain when he approached an unexpected 'high line' wire. The wire was positioned diagonally across the field. He reported that while avoiding the wire, he was unable to clear nearby trees. After colliding with the trees, the acft remained airborne for another 380 ft before impacting the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8559L
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-4980
- Airframe hours
- 1,971
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-G1A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Steier Ag Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 23, 1983 · 25 hours before
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.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 661 total · 127 in this make and model · 565 as pilot in command · 53 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.