What happened
During a supervised training flight, a student agricultural pilot was maneuvering an aircraft to gain altitude following departure. The flight was intended to navigate through a valley to reach a designated sowing area, requiring the crew to clear elevated terrain situated between the runway and the field.
While performing a turn to avoid high ground, witnesses observed the engine begin to misfire. This loss of power caused the aircraft to lose altitude rapidly during the maneuver. The plane subsequently impacted a hillside, resulting in a post-crash fire. There was one fatality involving the pilot, who was the only person on board at the time of the accident. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified that the aircraft experienced a momentary reduction in engine power during a critical phase of flight immediately after takeoff. While investigators could not definitively establish why the power loss occurred, fuel contamination was noted as a potential contributing factor to the engine malfunction.