What happened
On Sunday, January 12, 2025, a Thrush Aircraft S2R-T34 with registration HR-AZD, operated by Standard Fruit de Honduras, S.A., departed Coyoles Aerodrome in the department of Yoro. The aircraft was scheduled to conduct an agricultural fertilization flight over banana plantations in Isleta, Colón. The pilot had loaded 141.8 liters of fuel and an unconfirmed amount of fertilizer before taking off at approximately 17:31 local time.
Approximately thirteen minutes into the flight, while en route to the work area, the aircraft struck the tops of a series of trees before colliding with the ground. The accident occurred during daylight hours under visual meteorological conditions prior to sunset. The impact resulted in significant damage to the airframe; the left wing was completely destroyed, the vertical stabilizer detached from the tail assembly, and the landing gear sustained damage. The engine suffered major damage, and the propeller blades showed bending consistent with the engine being operational at the time of impact.
The aircraft came to rest inverted after sliding approximately 100 meters across muddy terrain, damaging three trees and uprooting one. Fertilizer was spilled over an area of roughly 250 square meters. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. No other persons were injured or killed.
The investigation
The Honduran Agency for Civil Aeronautics (AHAC) investigated the incident. The pilot, a 42-year-old Honduran national, held a Commercial Airplane license and a Class I medical certificate valid until January 31, 2025. He had over 1,900 hours of flight experience in single-engine aircraft and nearly 3,000 hours of aerial application experience according to operator records. Notably, at the time of the accident, he did not hold a specific license for agricultural fumigation.
The aircraft was operating under an Special Certificate of Airworthiness issued on December 20, 2024, valid for six months because it did not meet all airworthiness requirements of ICAO Annex 8. The operator held a valid Agricultural Aviation Operating Certificate. An Engine Monitoring System (MVP) unit was recovered and sent to Electronics International Inc. in the United States for data retrieval; analysis of this data was ongoing at the time of the preliminary report.
Findings
The investigation established that the aircraft struck tree tops approximately 15 meters high before impacting the ground. The dynamic forces of the impact and subsequent inverted displacement caused structural damage to the cockpit with no possibility of survival for the occupant, despite the pilot wearing his seatbelt and helmet. The cause of the initial loss of control or altitude is not definitively stated in this preliminary report, but the aircraft was flying straight and level before hitting the trees.
Safety action
No safety recommendations or actions are recorded in this preliminary report.