Piper PA-36-375 N6174A

Summary

On 19 June 2025 at about 14:40 local time, a Piper PA-36-375 registered N6174A, operated by Dakota Air Spray LLC, was involved in an accident near Huron, South Dakota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 June 2025 at 14:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Huron, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.3362, -98.3209

Aircraft

Piper PA-36-375

Registration

N6174A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Dakota Air Spray LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Huron → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA218

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a low-level aerial application, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at too low of an altitude to recover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that she was practicing a low-level aerial application flight of applying water to a field. During the third pass, she pushed the spray lever forward and inadvertently pushed the dump lever with her knuckles, which opened the gate to the hopper. She closed the gate and continued spraying, then climbed out of the field. The airplane entered an aerodynamic stall during the climb and the pilot applied full power; however, the airplane continued to stall at a low altitude and landed hard in a field. The airplane came to rest upright and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported the airplane was equipped with a stall warning system. She further reported that she obtained her aerial application airplane operation logbook endorsement 36 days before the accident date.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.