What happened
The accident occurred during an agricultural operation involving crop dusting. While the aircraft was performing a turn-around maneuver between swath runs, it began to settle lower than expected. The pilot recognized that the airplane was entering a low-speed, high-angle-of-attack regime, often referred to as being "behind the power curve," where additional thrust is required to maintain altitude.
In an attempt to reduce weight and improve performance, the pilot tried to dump the chemical load carried in the aircraft's tank. However, mechanical resistance prevented the action; significant tension on the dump handle made it impossible to release the payload. Unable to shed weight or regain sufficient airspeed, the airplane lost lift and stalled. The aircraft then impacted the tops of nearby trees before descending out of control to the ground.
The investigation
Examination of the event revealed that the primary failure was not mechanical in the traditional sense of a broken part, but rather a functional blockage or high friction within the dump handle mechanism. This prevented the pilot from executing a critical emergency procedure designed to mitigate stall conditions during low-altitude operations.
Findings
The sequence of events indicates that the aircraft stalled due to insufficient airspeed and power while maneuvering at low altitude. The inability to dump the load exacerbated the situation, leaving the aircraft too heavy to recover from the stall before impacting terrain obstacles.