Spraying (Agricultural)

The aircraft was engaged in a spraying mission on behalf of the Dobrinsky farm in Lipetsk. In flight, the captain noted problems with the elevator control tabs and decided to return to his base for controls. While the captain and the mechanic were occupied, the copilot decided to take off alone. Few minutes after departure, the aircraft struck the concrete block of an electric pole (12 metres high) and crashed in a field. The pilot escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was completing a crop spraying mission on behalf of the the collective farm 'Dimitrova' in Novoshcherbinovskaya. After takeoff, while climbing to a height of 10 metres, the engine lost power. The captain attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft struck the ground, nosed over and came to rest upside down, bursting into flames. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The topdressing operation had resumed after a break caused by weather deterioration associated with a weakening frontal system in the immediate area. Mist and low cloud had cleared, and the wind had picked up. The pilot was sowing into a narrow, rising valley. It was the sixth run over the same terrain, after an increase in payload. The pilot initially encountered lift then heavy sink. Unable to reverse course within the confines of the narrow valley, and despite the application of full power, 20 degrees of flap and an attempt to dump the payload, he failed to establish a climb. The aircraft stalled in a lefthand turn and impacted the valley side. The aircraft struck left wing first, removing the outer wing section. It then hit the ground flat but turning anti-clockwise and skidded tail first to a halt. The hopper mouth was torn loose, and this and the nose leg disrupted the cockpit floor, trapping the pilot's legs within the cockpit area and inflicting serious injuries. The pilot was wearing full restraint harness and a protective helmet, which undoubtedly saved him from further injury. He suffered some post-impact disorientation, but fortunately there was no post-crash fire. The Police and Fire Services in attendance were unaware of the actions required to secure the aircraft fuel and electrical systems.

The pilot was conducting a topdressing operation in hilly terrain in fine weather. He had stopped sowing and commenced a right hand turn. Considerable height was lost in the turn for reasons undetermined. The aircraft impacted with terrain under power in a 60° banked, 30° nose down attitude. The aircraft was totally destroyed in the impact and post crash fire, the pilot receiving fatal injuries. No technical deficiencies were revealed.

On the morning of the accident, the pilot and the loader-driver left Armidale in the aircraft between 0715 and 0730 and flew to the property "KOTUPNA". The task required the aircraft to operate from an agricultural strip 4,400 ft above mean sea level. Superphosphate spreading operations commenced between 0745 and 0800 and continued for approximately 1.5 hours after which the pilot and driver refuelled the aircraft and had a break. The pilot remarked to the driver that the aircraft was going very well and requested him to load a tonne of superphosphate. Operations resumed for about 1.5 hours and then ceased again whilst the aircraft was refuelled. After refuelling, the driver and the pilot had lunch and a break for about half an hour. The pilot again advised the loader driver that he would take a tonne, as the aircraft was performing well. After warming up the engine, the pilot made a normal take-off in a northeasterly direction and banked to the left to head southwest to the treatment area. The driver observed that the aircraft was lower and closer into the strip than had been the normal route to the treatment area. The aircraft did not seem to be climbing sufficiently to pass over the hill in front of it. The aircraft was then seen to be in a climbing left turn, toward the driver with superphosphate dumping from it. The aircraft's left wingtip contacted the ground after which the aircraft cartwheeled and came to rest 200-300 meters from the superphosphate dump. The driver ran down to the aircraft and found the pilot still strapped in the seat with no apparent sign of life. He moved the pilot clear of the aircraft in case of fire and then summoned help.

The pilot had arrived at the property to commence spraying operations on the day before the accident, and had been provided with a map of the area by the property owner. In addition, the property owner briefed the pilot on the location of relevant powerlines and other obstructions. However, the pilot did not carry out any spraying on that day, but instead flew the aircraft to Scone, in order to have a minor engine problem rectified. He then flew to Mudgee where the aircraft remained overnight. The pilot returned to the area the next morning, arriving on site at about 0645 ESuT. After spraying approximately 175 acres on an adjoining farm, he commenced an aerial inspection of the next property to be treated, but declined an offer by the property owner to accompany him in the aircraft so the property boundaries and powerlines could be pointed out. The aircraft was seen to make three passes over the area before it descended in an easterly direction, toward a crop of barley. A gentle rise, which included a dam bank located at the corner of the crop, had to be negotiated in order for the pilot to position the aircraft at the correct operating height for the swath run. A spurline, suspended over the crop and running in a northerly direction, was located a further 40 m beyond the dam. A witness reported that the aircraft had appeared to be maintaining level flight, and had commenced spraying, when it struck the spurline, then impacted heavily with the ground and overturned, fatally injuring the pilot. The weather in the area at the time of the accident was reported as fine, with light winds. The aircraft struck a three-wire spurline which ran in a northerly direction over the crop, at right angles to its flight path. The line spanned 165 m from the main powerline to the first spurline pole, located about 100 m from a house and to the left of the flight path. A number of large trees nearer to the house provided a backdrop to the spurline pole. A strainer wire stemming from the main powerline was positioned some 92 m further on in the direction of the intended flight path. It was about 10 m in length and ran parallel to the spurline. The strainer wire passed over a road and was attached to a support pole located one metre from the edge of the barley crop. The pilot had commenced the first swathe run by flying in an easterly direction, towards distant rising ground which was cloaked in shadow, whilst the powerline in the foreground was set against this backdrop.

The aircraft was dispatched in the south part of Poland, near the Czech border, to perform a rabies vaccine spraying mission. While cruising at an altitude of 100 metres, weather conditions deteriorated with fog. The crew decided to gain height and increased engine power when the aircraft struck tree tops and crashed in hilly terrain. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. After leaving the cabin, the four occupants realized they crashed in the Czech Republic, few hundred metres from the Polish border.

The aircraft was dispatched in Pelenia to conduct a local spraying mission. While flying at low height, it collided with power lines, lost height and crashed in a field. Both pilots were killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a top dressing flight in the region of Motueka. While flying at low height, the aircraft struck with its left wing a pine, lost height and crashed on the northern face of a ridge. The pilot was killed.

The crew was completing a spraying mission near the village of Gorkaya Balka, about 10 km northeast of Zelenokumsk, Stavropol krai. While cruising at low height, the aircraft collided with high voltage power line and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. Both pilots were killed.