Spraying (Agricultural)

while flying at low height, the single engine airplane struck power cables and crashed in a field. Occupant fate unknown.

The spraying rotations all along the day were completed in difficult conditions as the captain and the (illegal) passenger were intoxicated. The captain was also angry and fighting the copilot. After several low passes, while at an altitude of 200 meters, the airplane entered a left turn then banked to an angle of 60° and crashed on the top of a hill (718 meters high). The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

The pilot and loader driver arrived in the morning in ZK-CLI, flying over from Stratford. They had been working at the same farm the previous day. At about 08:35 a break in the operation was taken for refueling. The Fletcher was airborne again at about 08:45 carrying 16 hundredweight ( 815 kgs ) of fertilizer, and the pilot flew towards an area of river flat enclosed in a horseshoe bend in the Patea River, surrounded by higher ground. The loader driver reversed his vehicle to the superphosphate bin and began filling the bucket in preparation for the next sortie. As he did so he heard the sound of an impact and, hurrying back to the airstrip, saw the Fletcher crashed nose down on a hillside above the opposite bank of the Patea River, and about 1,200 metres to the northeast of the strip. The driver estimated that about a minute and a half had elapsed between the take off and the sound of the crash. The aircraft was wrecked. There was no fire. The pilot was found dead. The weather was fine with a light breeze. Flying conditions were not considered to be a factor in the accident. The condition of the propeller showed that the engine was producing power at the time of impact. The gross weight and C of G were within the permitted limits. There was evidence of about 250 kg of fertilizer at the crash site. It is believed that the pilot had carried out two sowing runs on the river flat area and was climbing away steeply to clear an adjacent ridge when control was lost during a turn and the plane dived into the ground.

Crashed in unknown circumstances while completing a spraying mission. The pilot, sole on board, was injured. The aircraft was written off.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a sowing lime mission on a hillside located in the Whitemans Valley, south of Upper Hutt. While turning in the valley to position for another sowing run, the single engine aircraft's left wing and undercarriage struck a small ridge. The plane then collided with a fence, cartwheeled, and dived into the ground. The pilot was killed.

The twin engine aircraft was engaged in a crop spraying flight on behalf of the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources (Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos). One engineer and two pilots were on board. While flying at low height to spray screwworm, the airplane went out of control and crashed. All three occupants were killed.

Crashed in a field following an engine failure. Both occupants were rescued.

The crew was completing a spraying mission on cotton fields on behalf of the State farm (kolkhoz) of Leningrad. While flying at a low height, the engine lost power and the aircraft lost speed and height. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the airplane struck the ground and crashed in a drainage ditch. Both occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was completing a local spraying mission and following two successful sorties, returned to the farm to refuel with fertilizers. The aircraft took off again at 1118LT on a third sortie. Seventeen minutes later, while flying at a height of 50 meters, the crew initiated a right turn when the airplane collided with a bird that entered the carburetor air intake. This caused the engine to lost power. The aircraft lost height and crashed on a road, bursting into flames. The captain was seriously injured and the copilot was killed.

The crew was dispatched in Novyi Buh to perform local crop spraying mission. Several rotations were conducted in the morning and the afternoon. During the lunch break, the crew consumed alcoholic beverages. At the end of the afternoon, four employees from the local farm came on board the airplane for a local flight. After takeoff, the crew performed hazardous manoeuvres at low height when the aircraft struck trees, stalled and crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.