Piper PA-18-150 N4385Z

Summary

On 14 July 1999 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N4385Z was involved in an accident near Opheim, Montana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 July 1999 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Opheim, Montana, United States

Coordinates

48.8704, -106.5605

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N4385Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Opheim → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA99LA118

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain an airspeed above stall speed (Vs), resulting in a stall/mush into the terrain during a course reversal at the end of an aerial application run. Factors include hilly terrain and high density altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the 150 horsepower PA-18 had just returned to an aerial application site after refueling and taking on another load of chemicals. During his refueling/reloading stop he expressed concern about the limited performance of the aircraft at the current temperature (75-80 degrees Fahrenheit) and at the altitude he was flying (about 3,000 feet MSL). He therefore took on a reduced fuel load and mentioned that he was planning on finishing the field by taking on two half-loads of chemical instead of one full one. Although witnesses saw him only partially fill his fuel tanks, no one saw whether he filled his chemical hopper to the top or only took on a partial load. Upon returning to the field, he was seen to make a pass in one direction, but no one saw him return in the other direction. Soon thereafter a column of black smoke was seen rising from the field. When witnesses arrived at the application site, they found the aircraft where it had stall/mushed into rapidly rising terrain at a location where the pilot would be making a course reversal just off the end of the field.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.