N9754P

On May 16, 1998, at 0938 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-25-260D, N9754P, was destroyed when it collided with terrain during a forced landing near Richfield, Utah. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant onboard, was seriously injured. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, neither the pilot nor his company, Donair Flight Service, has been issued an aerial applicator operating certificate. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial application flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated approximately 8 minutes before the accident.

According to the pilot's accident report, he remembers little of what happened. He said witnesses told him that he "had just about finished spraying a field when the wind began blowing." He left the field to return to the airport. He said witnesses told him "they thought they heard the engine running roughly. It appeared as though I made a landing in a field close to the airport when the accident occurred. About all I remember of that day was waking up that afternoon in the hospital." The pilot said he received a slight concussion and a fractured nose.

According to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office report, the pilot had been spraying a field with a 50-50 mixture of Furadan (a weed killer) and Dimate 4E. Seven witness statements collected by the sheriff's office indicated the engine "cut out," "stalled," or "stopped." The pilot "got it started again," then it "cut out," "stalled," or "stopped" again. The airplane was then seen to "dive," "nose dive," or go "straight down."

An FAA inspector went to the scene and examined the airplane. According to his report, the wing tanks and attached fuel lines were not damaged. When the tank drains were opened, no fuel came out. No fuel was found in the gascolator, the fuel line between the gascolator and fuel pump, or the carburetor. A small amount of fuel, however, was found in the carburetor inlet fuel line.