N8515L

On June 7, 2000, at 1138 central daylight time, a Piper PA-25-235, N8515L, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during an in-flight collision with terrain and subsequent ground-fire while conducting an aerial application mission near Maddock, North Dakota. Visual metrological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot reported serious injuries. The flight departed a private airstrip near Maddock, North Dakota, at exact time unknown.

According to an interview with the pilot, conducted by inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration Fargo Flight Standards District Office, he was conducting an aerial application mission when the aircraft encountered "dead air" during a turn following the completion of a spray-run. The pilot reported that the aircraft stalled, impacting the terrain. The pilot stated that after he evacuated the airplane it exploded and was consumed in a post-accident fire. The pilot reported that the weather conditions were getting turbulent and he should have terminated the aerial application flights earlier in the day.

According to an annotation to a diagram provided by the pilot, "Run into turbulins [turbulence] and plane stalled crashed here".