Spraying (Agricultural)

The crew was dispatched in Svalenik for a crop spraying mission. While flying at low height and speed, the captain initiated a 90° turn when the copilot cautioned him about the presence of a 8 metres tall tree. The captain pushed his hands off the controls when control was lost. The aircraft impacted the tree and crashed. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was reported that the captain was intoxicated at the time of the accident.

The single engine aircraft was dispatched in Tervel for a crop spraying mission with three people on board. While flying at a height of about five metres, the engine failed. The aircraft stalled and crashed in a field. A passenger escaped uninjured while the second one was unhurt. The pilot was evacuated in critical conditions.

On the morning of Sunday 23 December 2001, the pilot was engaged in spreading superphosphate on a property near Otonga. When this job was completed the operation moved to a property to the east of Whangarei where urea was sown on a maize crop. This job finished at about 1130 hours when the pilot and loader driver decided to have a cup of tea and determine which job they would do next. There were two options available; it was found that the wind was unsuitable for operations from one airstrip, so it was decided to complete the job at Paiaka, which involved spreading some 112 tonnes of lime. This particular job was to have commenced on 13 December 2001 but was delayed because of wind. The loader driver arrived at Paiaka at about 1300 hours to find that the pilot had already landed and was removing the cover from the fertiliser bin that held the lime. The loader driver noticed that water had come under the edges of the cover making the lime damp around the walls of the bin. The truck driver who had delivered lime earlier in the week had also noted the presence of moisture in the lime around the edges of the bin. The work commenced at about 1320 hours and the loader driver expected the pilot to stop for fuel between 1445 and 1500 hours. After approximately 13 loads the loader driver was using the lime that had been affected by moisture. As a result he took bucket loads from the sides of the bin and mixed it with the lime in the middle of the bin in an effort to make the lime flow more freely. At approximately 1425 the pilot gave the signal to the loader driver for a refuel on the next landing. As this was earlier than the expected refuel time the loader driver assumed this was also to check if any lime was building up around the bottom of the hopper. During the 10 weeks that they had been operating the aircraft they had to clean fertiliser away from the hopper door area. This had happened several times, especially if the fertiliser was damp, and on one occasion they had to clean out part of a previous fertiliser load that had “hung up” inside the hopper. As the loader driver was preparing for the refuel he could hear the aeroplane operating under what sounded like full power, and saw the pilot manoeuvre the aircraft in an apparent attempt to dislodge the load. He saw a small “puff” of lime discharge from the aircraft as it was “bunted”. The aircraft then disappeared behind intervening terrain into a valley, some 1,500 metres from the sowing area. The loader driver did not see the aeroplane again, but heard a muffled explosion and saw smoke on the skyline. He then phoned for emergency assistance. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1430 hours NZDT, at Paiaka, at an elevation of 720 feet. Grid reference 260-Q06-142267, latitude S 35° 33 2', longitude E 174° 08.3'.

The aircraft was flown to a farm airstrip then loaded with a small load of agricultural product. A combination of extremely soft airstrip conditions, a quartering tailwind, and underslung spreader equipment, degraded performance to the extent that the aircraft was unable to become airborne within the available length of the strip. The load was jettisoned, but the aircraft struck a fence and scraped the ground with the left wing tip and aileron. The aircraft did become airborne, but was unable to be effectively controlled and subsequently struck the ground. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was seriously injured.

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in China while completing a crop spraying mission. Both pilots were injured.

The aircraft was dispatched in the region of Veydelev to perform a crop spraying mission. On board were three pilots, one copilot seating in the jumpseat, one instructor seating in the right seat and one pilot seating in the left seat. After a first pass over the area to be treated at a speed of 140 km/h and at an altitude of 130 metres, the crew initiated a right turn during which the aircraft banked right to an angle of 90°, descended to 60-70 metres and lost speed to 130 km/h while at this stage, its speed should be 155-160 km/h. As the crew was facing a hill, he decided to increase power to gain height but the aircraft struck the ground in a landing configuration. The crew reduced the engine power and started to brake when, at a speed of 50-60 km/h, the aircraft struck trees and came to rest in a wooded area. All three occupants were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On 13 June 2001, Cresco ZK-TMO arrived at Te Aroha Station, 25 km west of Gisborne, to carry out topdressing of that property. Before operations started, the property owner briefed the pilot, and two observation flights over the areas to be sown were made. The owner also cautioned the pilot against turning left after take-off from the airstrip. Spreading commenced at 1600 hours, and 14 flights with 1800 kg loads were completed that day. The loader driver reported that no difficulties were experienced during those operations. Spreading recommenced at 0720 hours on 14 June 2001, again with 1800 kg loads, in an area to the left (east) of the airstrip. On the third flight after a refuel later in the morning, the loader driver noticed that the pilot made a partial load jettison after take-off; this resulted in a reduced duration of that sortie. However, on return, the pilot did not indicate to the loader driver that he required a reduced load. About 1145 hours, the aircraft was reloaded and commenced take-off. The loader driver watched about half the take-off roll, then continued preparing for the next load. He did not sight the aircraft again before a pall of black smoke attracted his attention. After making a radio call to the aircraft and hearing no response, the loader driver ran towards the smoke, which was to the left of and below the elevated strip. On reaching the site he found the aircraft inverted in a small stream and burning fiercely. The loader driver could see the pilot inside the aircraft but he and the property owner were unable to reach him because of the intense heat of the fire. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1145 hours NZST, at Te Aroha Station; latitude S 38° 38.0' longitude E 177° 41.8', at an elevation of approximately 770 feet.

The crew was engaged in a crop spraying mission in Novoaleksandrovsk. Shortly after takeoff, while at a height of about 50 metres, the crew raised the flaps when the engine failed. The crew elected to restart the engine but without success. In such situation, the captain attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in a field and eventually collided with trees. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was dispatched at Nekrasovskaya to perform a crop spraying mission for the farm 'Rossia'. While flying at an insufficient height of 5 metres, the copilot saw power cables and elected to gain height to avoid the collision. But the captain took over control and plunged the aircraft to pass below the line. The power cables struck the tail that was partially torn off. The aircraft nosed down and crashed in an open field, bursting into flames. Both pilots were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

The pilot, sole on board, was engaged in a local crop spraying mission. During the takeoff roll, the aircraft encountered difficulties to gain speed. The pilot suspected problems with the parking brake and after liftoff, the aircraft lost height and crashed to the left of the departure area. The pilot escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.