What happened
On February 2, 2018, at approximately 10:30 a.m., a Cessna A-188B aircraft, registration N-21852, was performing agricultural spraying operations over a rice plantation in Sección Pontón, La Vega, Dominican Republic. While flying at a low altitude to apply agricultural inputs, the aircraft's left landing gear struck a gate belonging to an irrigation canal system.
The impact caused the left landing gear to detach from the airframe. Following the collision, the pilot executed an emergency landing at the Angelina Aerodrome in Cotuí. The aircraft touched down using only the right landing gear and traveled approximately 150 meters along the runway before the left wing made contact with the surface. The pilot was uninjured, but the aircraft sustained severe damage.
The investigation
The CIAA investigation focused on the circumstances surrounding the low-altitude flight and the impact with the obstacle. Investigators examined the pilot's experience, noting the commander had 30,000 total flight hours, including 15,000 hours in this specific model. The investigation also reviewed the aircraft's maintenance records, confirming that the Cessna A-188B was airworthy, with its last 100-hour inspection completed on September 29, 2017.
Meteorological conditions at the time of the accident were determined to be favorable for the intended operation. The investigation also looked into the physical characteristics of the site, noting the flat terrain of the rice plantations, and the mechanical state of the aircraft following the detachment of the gear.
Findings
- The primary contributing factor was a human error involving the pilot's failure to detect the irrigation canal gate while performing low-level maneuvers.
- The collision with the gate directly resulted in the structural failure and detachment of the left landing gear.
- The aircraft's maintenance status and the prevailing weather conditions were not contributing factors to the accident.