N3859E

On June 19, 2008, a Piper PA-36-375 (N3859E) was involved in an accident near Lodi, CA. The accident resulted in 1 minor injury. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision to continue the flight into an area of obscured visibility and his failure to maintain clearance above obstacles.

In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was flying low over a grape vineyard to apply sulfur dust. After making two application runs, he began a third run, and observed that sulfur dust from the previous two runs had drifted into the area through which he would be flying. He continued the run, and lost all visual contact with the ground as the airplane entered the sulfur dust cloud. He felt the left wing hit a grape trellis, which pulled the airplane down and to the left. The airplane traveled 150 yards on top of the grape trellises before stopping inverted on the ground. The pilot indicated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.

This accident is documented in NTSB report LAX08CA188. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N3859E.