On August 5, 1983, a Piper PA-25-235 (registration N7620Z) was involved in an aviation accident near Bentley, KS. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadequate management of airspeed and weight distribution during a low-altitude turnaround maneuver, which resulted in a stall while carrying an undumped chemical load. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
An aircraft stalled and crashed during an aerial application maneuver while carrying a heavy chemical load, resulting in a nosing over and fire.
What happened
The aircraft was engaged in an aerial application mission when it stalled, crashed, and subsequently nosed over. The incident occurred while the pilot was performing a turnaround maneuver at the end of a spray run. An eyewitness, who was the owner of the aircraft and operating a separate plane in the same field, observed the sequence of events. According to the witness, the aircraft pulled up upon completing its run and began turning around when the nose pitched upward excessively. The aircraft then stalled and descended rapidly to the ground. A significant factor in the incident was that the chemical load, which weighed between 700 and 800 pounds, had not been dumped prior to impact.
Findings
The primary contributing factors involved the aircraft's stall during a low-altitude maneuver while carrying a substantial weight of chemicals. The failure to dump the load before attempting the turnaround likely exacerbated the stall characteristics and reduced the aircraft's ability to recover.
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate management of airspeed and weight distribution during a low-altitude turnaround maneuver, which resulted in a stall while carrying an undumped chemical load.