Seeding Aircraft Destroyed in Controlled Collision with Terrain Following Pilot Distraction (N6024M)

Incident Overview

A pilot conducting agricultural seeding operations crashed after becoming distracted by in-cockpit tasks. The airplane was destroyed in a post-impact fire following a controlled collision with terrain in a ravine.

Flight Sequence

The pilot had previously flown a reconnaissance flight to inspect the area adjacent to mountainous terrain. After completing the first seeding pass, he began maneuvering the airplane in a turn back toward the field. While checking the seeding pattern and making adjustments to the GPS system inside the cockpit, he became preoccupied. When he next checked the gauges, he realized the airplane had lost airspeed. He rolled the airplane to a wings-level configuration to regain airspeed, but the airplane was headed toward rising terrain. He jettisoned the remaining seed and made a controlled collision with terrain in a ravine.

Pilot Report

The pilot stated that he had preoccupied himself with less important flight duties at a critical time during the flight. He reported no mechanical problems that would have precluded normal operation.