No fatalities

12 Jun 2009: PIPER PA-36-285 — DOUGLAS M. HANSEN — Clark, SD

Clark, SD, United States

On 12 Jun 2009, a PIPER PA-36-285 operated by DOUGLAS M. HANSEN was involved in an aviation accident near Clark, SD. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain clearance from a levy. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

An aerial application pilot became fixated on setting navigational equipment and struck a levy with the landing gear, causing structural damage to the aircraft.

Incident Details

An aerial application pilot reported that while en route to a field for spraying, he was setting his navigational equipment and became fixated on the unit. The pilot stated, "At the end of the field was a levy with a road on top of it. I noticed this too late and impacted the landing gear of the aircraft at the top of the levy." After the impact, the airplane continued to fly, and the pilot acknowledged that he had hit something.

Damage Assessment

Photographs of the airplane revealed that structural tubing had been torn away from the fuselage tubing. The torn structure remained attached to the separated landing gear.

Pilot Account

The pilot provided the sole account of the event. No other occupants were mentioned in the report.

Contributing factors

Causes

Pilot

Other contributing factors

Contributed to outcome