Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, resulting in an inadvertent stall and collision with trees.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was conducting aerial spraying of an orchard. He had completed 12 passes and was maneuvering for the last pass. According to the pilot, he was headed in 'an easterly direction, went into an ag turn, to head west, when aircraft was in westerly direction, still in turn, we hit trees and ground. According to the faa, the pilot did not maintain an airspeed of 80 mph in the turn and the airplane stalled.
Source record
Factual narrative
On Sunday, May 29, 1994, at 2030 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-25-235, N8688L, registered to and piloted by Lindsay E. Hobbs, sustained substantial damage, while performing aerial application maneuvers in Burt, New York. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 137. The pilot departed the private airstrip for a crop spraying flight. He had completed 12 spraying passes and was turning for a last pass, when the airplane impacted trees. Mr. Donald F. Miller, Aviation Safety Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, stated in his report: [The] pilot allowed [the] speed of [the] aircraft to get too slow while executing a right turn at about 75 feet altitude and crashed into the apple orchard. -