Spraying (Agricultural)

Pilot was engaged in a spraying mission over an oil palm plantation in the region of North Rawajitu, Lampung Province. Less than three minutes after takeoff, the single engine aircraft stalled and crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post impact fire and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The single engine aircraft departed Balota (Drobeta) Aerodrome at 0930LT on a spraying mission over wooded area on behalf of the Department of Forestry, carrying one passenger and two pilots. About 50 minutes into the flight, after it completed several low passes over the area to be treated, the engine lost power. The crew decided to return to Balota Aerodrome and completed a 180 turn when the engine stopped. The crew attempted an emergency landing in an open field. After landing, the aircraft rolled for about 130 metres when the left main gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest. All three occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was engaged in a crop spraying flight on agricultural field in Vostochnaya, about 70 km northeast of Krasnodar. The day prior to the accident, the engine failed in flight and the crew made a forced landing in a field. As the carburetor was broken, it was replaced and an engine test run was performed. On 23 March, one minute after takeoff, while climbing to a height of 30 metres, the engine failed again. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft stalled and crashed in the Bakhotinski Lake, coming to rest upside down. The copilot escaped with minor injuries while the captain was killed. The wreckage was recovered three days later.

The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in Waitaanga while completing a spraying mission between Taumatunui and Mount Messenger. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was seriously injured.

The pilot, who was undertaking training toward a Grade 2 Agricultural Pilot Rating, began work at approximately 0625 hours on the day of the accident. The pilot and his instructor, who was in another topdressing aircraft, flew to a block of land to the south east of Rotorua where the pilot completed 15 sowing runs, while his instructor worked in the local vicinity in the second aircraft. The pilot and instructor completed the work on this block, had a break and then transited to the Waikite Valley, arriving at approximately 0945 hours. At 1045 hours, after refuelling his aircraft, the pilot commenced sowing a ‘special mix’ fertiliser, in an alternating pattern between the instructor and pilot, with two aircraft operating from the airstrip. The alternating pattern allowed the instructor to observe and supervise the pilot during the take off and landing phases, while allowing the operation to proceed efficiently. The pilot and instructor stopped for lunch after an hour of flying, refuelled once more and then continued with their work. The amount of fertiliser that was loaded into the pilot’s aircraft was progressively increased as the work proceeded. The initial load of product was 900 kg, gradually increasing by 50 kg increments, when the instructor was satisfied that the pilot’s performance allowed this increase. The last five loads carried prior to the accident were each 1100 kg. Nothing untoward was noticed during the sowing runs, apart from the pilot aborting one landing attempt, due to the wake turbulence from the instructor’s aircraft during take off. At the time of the accident the pilot was performing ‘clearing runs’, sowing on remaining areas of land not already covered by previous sowing runs. Immediately prior to the accident, the pilot called the instructor on the radio to enquire of his location. The instructor responded with “directly behind you on the other side of the woolshed”. A few seconds later, as the instructor approached to land at the airstrip, he observed the pilot’s aircraft flying in a westerly direction at approximately 400 ft AGL. He then saw the pilot’s aircraft make a slight turn to the left. Describing what he had seen as: “he started to climb and turn slightly to the left, then the plane was in a left hand spin”. The instructor thought at the time that the aircraft spun for one and a half rotations to the left, prior to being obscured by the ridge adjacent to the airstrip. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1315 hours, at Waikite Valley, Rotorua, at an elevation of 1460 ft. Latitude S 38° 18.5', longitude E 176° 17.42'.

The crew was engaged in a spraying mission in the region of Knyazhichi, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. Following 15 successful sorties that day, the crew was ready for the 16th and started the takeoff procedure from the third of the runway which is 768 metres long. After a course of 577 metres, the single engine aircraft failed to get airborne and overran. The crew decided to abort but this was too late. The aircraft sank in muddy field and rolled for about 56 metres before coming to rest upside down. Both occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew departed Şirna Aerodrome around 0830LT on a local spraying mission. About 15 minutes into the flight, the crew encountered engine problems and elected to make an emergency landing. He found a suitable terrain and attempted to land when the aircraft collided with a small concrete wall and some bushes before coming to rest in an open field. Both pilots escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a spraying mission on sunflower plantations in Zasovskaya. While flying at a height of about 20 metres, preparing for a new low pass, the single engine aircraft collided with power cables, stalled and crashed upside down in an open field, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was seriously injured.

Sole on board, the pilot was completing a crop spraying mission between the villages of Sasha and Kostyukivka. While manoeuvring at low height, the single engine aircraft hit tree tops, stalled and crashed, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post impact fire and the pilot was killed.

The single engine aircraft was dispatched in Baranikovskiy to perform a crop spraying mission on rice paddy field. Before flight, the tank was refueled with 250 litres of E95 fuel. The technician told the pilot the fuel was abnormally yellow but the pilot decided to proceed with the flight. Prior to take off, he asked the copilot to stay on ground and replaced him by the owner of the zone to be treated which is against the published procedures. During the takeoff roll, the aircraft did not accelerate as expected but the pilot continued. After liftoff, at a height of about 30 metres, the pilot initiated a 90° left turn when the engine lost power. He started to drop the load of chemicals then attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft impacted ground. It continued for about 134 metres then struck an irrigation drain, nosed over and came to rest, bursting into flames. The pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured.