N4652Y

On July 12, 1999, at 1000 central daylight time, a Piper PA-25-235, N4652Y, received substantial damage on impact with terrain during a spray test swath run. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 137 agricultural flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight originated at a field one mile south of the Fargo, North Dakota city limits, at 0950

In a written statement, the pilot reported the following. "I took off from my grass strip at 1050 am with 50 gallons of water containing dye. The purpose of the flight was to spray the dye while flying over the center of a string to determine the swath width and uniformity. I started my swath run about 10 ft off the ground, 1/2 mile north of the string, which was located east and west on the west end of the runway. I was about 300 ft from the string when I spotted the orange cone markers indicating a flight path over the center of the string. Attempting to line up with these cones I lowered a wing into the grain which dragged the aircraft sideways, and upon hitting the ground in this attitude the gear was torn off."

The pilot reported a total flight time of 8 hours in PA-25-235 aircraft.