Spraying (Agricultural)

The single engine aircraft was engaged in a crop spraying flight in the Sennoi area. During the takeoff roll, the left wheel separated. The aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the left and collided with a parked truck, bursting into flames. Both pilots were injured, the captain seriously. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.

The crew was completing a crop spraying mission in Sakhanka when, at low altitude, the engine failed. The crew attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft impacted a fence and eventually collided with trees. Both pilots were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The crew already completed 15 spraying sorties successfully that day. After being refilled with a load of 1,200 kg of chemicals for the next mission, the crew started the takeoff procedure with flaps down to 20° from the middle of the runway which is 850 metres long. At a speed of about 90-100 km/h, the crew started the rotation but the aircraft failed to respond. It overran, struck an embankment located 572 metres past the runway end and crashed, bursting into flames. Both pilots were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was performing a crop spraying flight in the region of Genichesk, on the shore of the Azov Sea. In flight, the engine failed, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing in an open field. While both occupants were uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The single engine aircraft was dispatched in Pavlovsk with one technician and two pilots for a local crop spraying mission. While on a night approach to Pavlovsk Airfield, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low. On final, both lower wings collided with trees (10 metres high). The aircraft rolled to the left to an angle of 45° then crashed 390 metres short of runway, bursting into flames. All three occupants were killed.

On the morning of 19 December 2003, the pilot began work about 0630 hours, flying from Te Kuiti aerodrome to an agricultural airstrip about eight nautical miles to the west. At that strip he completed a 150 tonne lime contract that had been started by two other aircraft the day before. Refuelling of the aircraft was completed approximately every hour, and the pilot stopped for a break with about four loads remaining. At 1400 hours, with the job completed, he flew to the strip from which he operated until the time of the accident. On arrival at this strip, the pilot completed a reconnaissance flight with the pilot of ZK-EMW, discussed their sowing plan, and agreed on a 1.1 tonne load with the loader driver. Take-offs were made to the south-west, landings in the opposite direction. The loader driver reported that the job was going smoothly, and that the pilot seemed in good spirits, at one stage miming wiping his brow, which the loader driver took to be a comment on the heat of the day. During this time, a third company aircraft, ZK-JAL, arrived at the strip and shut down, as the loader driver was able to handle only two aircraft at a time. The pilot of ZK-JAL flew a briefing sortie with the pilot of ZK-BXZ prior to the planned departure of ZK-BXZ. After each take-off, ZK-BXZ would turn left on to a downwind leg and then cross over the top (loading) end of the strip on the way to the sowing area. ZK-BXZ was working inward from the eastern boundary of the property, and ZK-EMW from the western boundary. While topdressing was in progress, fresh lime was being trucked to the strip and placed in the large fertilizer bin from which the loader was replenishing the aircraft. The lime was received directly from the processing plant, and was dry and free-flowing. As each load arrived, the farmer would mix a cobalt supplement with it in the bin. One of the truck drivers, who himself held a Commercial Pilot Licence (Aeroplane), took several photographs of the aircraft landing and taking off. One photograph showed ZK-BXZ leaving the end of the strip on probably its penultimate take-off, with ZK-EMW on final approach on the reciprocal heading. On this occasion ZK-EMW passed over ZK-BXZ just after the latter became airborne. The next photograph showed ZK-BXZ approximately two thirds of the way down the strip, with 20° of flap set on its final take-off, with dirt being thrown up by the wheels as it hit the soft spots in the strip. The driver did not watch the take-off beyond this point. The pilot of ZK-EMW initially reported that on his landing approach, he flew over ZK-BXZ while it was still on its take-off run. He later disputed this and claimed that ZK-BXZ had just become airborne when it disappeared from view under his right wing. In any event, ZK-BXZ only flew approximately 170 metres, so the proximity of these two aircraft was very close if ZK-BXZ was already airborne at this point in time. The close proximity of the two aircraft is significant as it is possible that ZKBXZ, being the lower of the two aircraft, may have encountered wake turbulence from ZK-EMW. All aircraft produce wake turbulence as a by-product of generating lift from their wings, the intensity varying with the aircraft’s speed, weight and configuration. The weather conditions, as discussed in the article appended to this report, were favourable for ZK-BXZ to encounter the wake vortices from the aircraft passing above. The first indication of the accident was a loud bang heard by the farmer – he was in the bin mixing in the cobalt supplement, and initially thought he had heard a truck tailgate slamming. Looking towards the end of the strip, he saw a plume of smoke and immediately went by motorcycle to investigate. On arrival at the scene, he found the aeroplane well ablaze, and was unable to get close because of the heat. As the accident occurred, a fourth company aircraft, ZK-EGV, arrived at the strip. The pilot did not see the actual impact, but flew over the burning wreckage on approach. As soon as he landed he went by foot to the accident site, as he had arrived too late to join those that had gone on board the loading vehicle. The loader driver used his fire extinguisher to quell the flames, but could do nothing to assist the pilot. After the extinguisher ran out, the fire flared up again, and all those present could do was to await the arrival of the Fire Service. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1500 hours NZDT, at Mairoa, 10 nm south-west of Te Kuiti aerodrome, at an elevation of 1150 ft. Latitude: S 38° 22.9', longitude: E 174° 57.0'; grid reference: 260-R16-806117.

The crew was completing a crop spraying mission in the region of Qom. While flying at low height, the single engine aircraft collided with power lines and crashed. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

About 0900 hours on 24 July 2002, the pilot commenced spraying operations on flat farmland in the Orongo area, some three kilometres to the south-west of Thames Aerodrome. Loading for the operation was carried out at Thames by the pilot’s father, who as an experienced agricultural pilot, was also acting in a supervisory role. The pilot had only recently qualified for spraying, all his previous agricultural experience being topdressing. Spraying was stopped about 1210 hours because of unsuitable wind conditions, and both pilot and loader driver took a break for lunch at the loader driver’s home. Conditions improved after lunch, and spraying was restarted at 1350 hours, the pilot finishing the remaining treatment of the first property. The second property was started at 1420. The long axes of the paddocks on this property were aligned approximately north-west/south-east, and the pilot carried out his spray runs at right angles to the general alignment, progressively covering several paddocks on each run. The beginning of the runs was delineated by a row of about 30 mature trees of various species, over which the pilot had to descend on a south-westerly heading. On completion of the main part of the property, the pilot was left with one paddock on the other side of the trees. At the north-western end of this paddock was a barn and stockyards. On the first run over this paddock, the pilot approached over the barn and made the first spray run to the south-east. He was seen to make a 180-degree reversal turn and align the aircraft with the left (looking north-west) boundary of the paddock, in close proximity to the trees. On this heading, he was flying into the sun and towards the barn. Part -way into this run the left wing outer panel struck a protruding branch and part of the aileron was torn off. Further collisions occurred as the aircraft progressed along the tree line. The aircraft rolled inverted, struck the ground and slid to a halt with the engine still running. The farmer and his partner were driving separately along the nearby road, towards the barn when the accident happened. The farmer continued to the scene while his partner went to a neighbour’s house to alert emergency services. Arriving at the aircraft, the farmer quickly realised that there was nothing he could do for the pilot. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1450 hours NZST, at Orongo, at an elevation of 10 feet. Grid reference: 260-T12-347440; latitude S 37° 10.7', longitude E 175° 31.6'.

The crew as engaged in a crop spraying mission in Dubovoe. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing to a height of about 40 metres, the engine lost power. The airplane lost height and the crew attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft rolled to the left to an angle of 10-15° then collided with trees and crashed in a wooded area. Both pilots escaped unhurt while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On the morning of Friday 19 April 2002, the pilot was engaged in spreading superphosphate on a hill-country property to the south-east of Masterton. Operations had commenced at 0735 hours, after the pilot and loader driver had flown to the airstrip from Masterton. The topdressing proceeded normally for two hours, the pilot taking a refuel and “smoko” break from 0935 to 1000 hours. The left tank only was topped off, as the fuel system design permitted the fuel levels to equalise between the left and right tanks. As was his usual practice, the pilot carried out a full pre-flight inspection during the break. The loader driver noted the time of the first takeoff after the break as 1001 hours. This sortie was completed normally; but the aircraft became overdue on the second. Looking over towards the area being worked, the loader driver saw a column of black smoke; he immediately telephoned the company chief pilot, who was operating another aircraft on a property a short distance to the south-west. The chief pilot had already seen the smoke, and flew across to investigate. He saw the aircraft burning fiercely on the shoulder of a ridge and telephoned emergency services to report the accident. He briefly contemplated landing by the accident site, but decided against it and continued to the airstrip to pick up the loader driver. They flew back to the site, but could see no sign of the pilot, so returned to Masterton. They had seen that there was a person and a motorcycle on the ground by the wreckage: this was the farmer whose property was being topdressed, and who had been working on the eastern side of the valley being sown. While the aeroplane was on its last run, the farmer saw an object fall from it and “flutter” to the ground. He was unable to tell what the object was, but thought at first that it may have been a superphosphate bag by the way it fell. Two fencing contractors were working near the farmer’s position; they also saw an object fall from the aeroplane, and shortly afterwards one remarked to the other that the aeroplane “had no tail”. They watched the aeroplane climb and “veer to the left” before striking the ground near the top of the ridge at the southern end of the valley. It caught fire on impact. The farmer, although he did not see the impact because of intervening terrain, realised something was amiss and quickly moved to a position where he could see the accident site. He then drove his four-wheel motorcycle to the site; he estimated that this took about three minutes. On arrival, he found the centre section of the aircraft well ablaze; he could see no sign of the pilot at this stage, despite being able to get as close as the left wingtip. He reported that there were a number of explosions while the fire was burning, and that once the fire had subsided, he saw the pilot’s body in the wreckage. The impact (but not the falling object) was also witnessed by another farmer on the ridge to the western side of the valley. He estimated that some 10 seconds elapsed between impact and the first sign of fire, and had expected to see the pilot jump clear. The falling object was later found to be the tail fin (vertical stabiliser); it had landed in a clearing in a small patch of bush near where the fencers had been working, 870 m from the point where the aircraft struck the ground. The accident occurred in daylight, at 1013 hours NZST, 12 km south-south-east of Masterton, at an elevation of 1240 feet. Grid reference 260-T26-370116, latitude S 41° 04.36', longitude E 175° 42.05'.