Primary finding
Probable cause
Inaccurate preflight planning and preparation for the flight. A factor was soft terrain on the landing strip.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
During takeoff roll from a soft grass strip on an aerial application flight, the aircraft struck a fence and trees shortly after becoming airborne. The aircraft came to rest on its nose off the end of the private airstrip. The pilot was not injured and no chemicals were spilled.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 1, 1994, between 0600 and 0900 mountain daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, N8559H, sustained substantial damage during takeoff from a private airstrip near Lindon, Colorado. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this local area aerial application flight, and no flight plan was filed. The accident site was on a farm near the unincorporated community of Last Chance, Colorado. According to the pilot, he had operated from this facility in the past and normally departed to the south. On this flight, he said that due to the wind, he elected to depart to the north. The field was soft due to recent rains and the takeoff roll was longer than anticipated. As the aircraft became airborne, according to the pilot, it struck a fence and some trees and came to rest vertical on the nose. The pilot said he was not injured and the hopper remained intact. -