Forced Landing of Piper PA-25-260 HK1080 in Cartago, Colombia

Incident Overview and Flight History On May 19, 2020, a Piper PA-25-260 with registration HK1080, operated by Fuminorte S.A.S., was conducting agricultural spraying operations in the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia. The aircraft was scheduled to spray fungicide over 145 plazas of corn located south and southwest of Cartago. The pilot arrived at the company facilities at 06:00 local time, completed the pre-flight inspection, and took off from runway 19 at 08:09 local time. ## Accident Sequence During the initial takeoff, at an altitude of 300 feet, the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of engine power. The pilot decided to evacuate the chemical product as an emergency measure and executed a forced landing. Just before touchdown, the aircraft struck a draft animal, which caused a loss of control. The aircraft traveled 15 meters before coming to a stop. The pilot exited the aircraft unassisted and was uninjured. ## Damage and Investigation Findings The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The investigation determined that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of engine power resulting from an internal failure, specifically within the carburetor. A malfunction of the float prevented sufficient fuel flow for proper combustion. Contributing factors included inadequate maintenance practices, as the maintenance personnel did not properly monitor the condition and operation of the carburetor components. Additionally, the operator lacked standard procedures that would have required the use of the entire available runway for takeoff, which might have allowed the aircraft to land back on the runway during the emergency. ## Safety Recommendations The investigation issued four operational safety recommendations, three of which were directed to Fuminorte S.A.S. and one to the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics.