Piper PA-25-235 N8544L

Summary

On 18 June 1982 at about 20:30 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N8544L, operated by J. Birchfield, was involved in an accident near Ripley, Indiana, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

18 June 1982 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Ripley, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

35.7394, -89.5308

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N8544L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

J. Birchfield

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Halls → Halls

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL82DA171

1 person had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

WHEN THE PILOT ARRIVED TO SPRAY THE FIELD FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE SAW POWERLINES ALONG A ROAD AND SAW POLES ON BOTH SIDES OF A CREEK. HE ASSUMED THAT ALL OF THE LINES FOLLOWED THE ROAD. HE WAS UNAWARE THAT A POWERLINE CROSSED THE NARROW FIELD THAT HE WAS ABOUT TO SPRAY. THE FIRST SWATH RUN WAS STARTED BY CROSSING OVER A BLUFF. AS THE PILOT BEGAN TO SPRAY, HE SAW THE POWERLINE AND DOVE TO AVOID A COLLISION. REPORTEDLY, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE TO RECOVER. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND AND THE GEAR COLLAPSED INTO THE WINGS AND FUSELAGE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.