SEA97LA137

The aerial application pilot had completed 10 chemical application flights on the morning of the accident. After the first two flights, he had to reduce the volume of his load, because as the ambient temperature increased, the aircraft's performance began to deteriorate. After the tenth flight, the pilot took on another load of chemicals and refueled the aircraft. He then attempted a takeoff with a density altitude of approximately 6,930 feet. After liftoff, the aircraft would not fly out of ground effect, and after it passed the end of the runway, the aircraft began to descend. The pilot then elected to dump the chemical load in order to reduce the aircraft's weight. He therefore reached down to pull the jettison handle, but accidentally pulled the spray handle instead. By the time he realized his mistake, he only had time to flare for a landing. During the landing roll, the aircraft hit a dirt embankment and the main gear collapsed.

On June 12, 1997, approximately 1230 mountain daylight time, an Aero Commander Callair A-9B, N7922V, impacted the terrain during the landing roll, after a forced landing during a takeoff from Stanford Field, Saint Anthony, Idaho. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight was operating in visual meteorological condition, and no flight plan had been filed.

According to the pilot, he had flown 10 application flights on the morning of the accident. After the first two, he had to reduce his load from 80 gallons to 70 gallons because the aircraft's performance began deteriorating as the ambient temperature increased. After the tenth load, the pilot added another load of chemicals to the hopper, and then refueled the aircraft. He then attempted to take off in order to complete another application. He said that the aircraft would not climb out of ground-effect so he did a quick magneto check, but that did not seem to be the problem. As he tried to get the aircraft to climb out of ground effect, the airspeed slowed, and he decided he should jettison the load. He therefore reached down to pull the load jettison handle, but accidentally pulled the spray handle instead. By the time he realized his error, the sink rate had increased, and he only had time to flare the aircraft prior to contacting the ground. The pilot made a successful touchdown, but during the landing roll, the main gear hit a road embankment, and the both main gear collapsed.

According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot, the pilot had recently completed an aerial application pilot course, and this was his second day acting as an aerial application pilot. At the time of the takeoff from the 4,000 foot long runway, the density altitude was approximately 6,930 feet.