Spraying (Agricultural)

The crew was engaged in a spraying mission over rice paddy fields in the region of Kiliya, Odessa. While completing the 18th sortie of the day, flying at a height of 50 metres and at a speed of 140-150 km/h, the engine failed. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft hit obstacles and trees and crashed. The captain escaped unhurt while the copilot was slightly injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On 16 June 2017, a Pacific Aerospace Ltd FU24 Stallion, registered VH-EUO (EUO), was conducting aerial agricultural operations from a private airstrip at Redhill, 36 km north-north-east of Bathurst, New South Wales (NSW). The operations planned for that day involved the aerial application of fertiliser on three properties in the Upper Turon area of NSW. At about 0700 Eastern Standard Time on the morning of the accident, the pilot and loader drove to Bathurst Airport to fill the fuel tanker and then continued to the worksite at the Redhill airstrip in the Upper Turon area, arriving at about 0830. Work on the first property started at about 0900, with the first flight of the day commencing at 0920. Work on the first property continued until 1350 with two refuelling stops at 1048 and 1250. Approximately 40 tonnes of fertiliser was applied on the first job. In preparation for the second job, fertiliser and seed were loaded into the aircraft and maps of the second job area were passed to the pilot. At 1357, the aircraft took off for the first flight of the second job. The aircraft returned to reload, and at 1405 the aircraft took off for the second flight. A short time later, at 14:06:59, recorded flight data from the aircraft ceased. When the aircraft did not return as expected, the loader radioed the pilot. When the loader could not raise the pilot on the radio, he became concerned and drove his vehicle down the airstrip to see if the aircraft had experienced a problem on the initial climb. Finding no sign of the aircraft, he returned to the load site, while continuing to call the pilot on the radio. He then drove to the application area to search for the aircraft before returning to the load site. With no sign of the aircraft, the loader called emergency services to raise the alarm. By about 1500, police had arrived on site and a ground search commenced. A police helicopter also joined the search, which was eventually called off due to low light. The next morning, at about 0630, the search recommenced and included NSW Police State Emergency Service personnel, and local volunteers. At about 0757, the wreckage of the aircraft was found in dense bush on the side of a hill to the east of the application area. The pilot was found deceased in the aircraft. The aircraft was found approximately 17 hours after the last recorded flight data and there were no witnesses to the accident.

The airplane was engaged in a crop spraying mission, carrying a load of herbicides, one passenger and one pilot. In the early morning, while completing a seventh low pass, at a height of about 20-40 metres, the pilot initiated a left turn when the aircraft descended to the ground and crashed at a speed of 140 km/h in an open field, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and both occupants were killed.

The aircraft was engaged in a crop spraying mission in Bereke, northwest of Almaty, carrying one pilot and one passenger, a mechanic. While flying at low height, the engine started to vibrate and lost power. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the airplane hit the ground and crashed, bursting into flames. The pilot was killed and the mechanic was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

The airline transport pilot and commercial copilot were conducting a mosquito abatement application flight. Although flight controls were installed in both positions, the pilot typically operated the airplane. During a night, visual approach to landing at their home airfield, the airplane was on the left base leg and overshot the runway's extended centerline and collided with 80-ft-tall power transmission towers and then impacted terrain. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Both pilots were experienced with night operations, especially at their home airport. The pilot had conducted operations at the airport for 14 years and the copilot for 31 years, which might have led to crew complacency on the approach . Adequate visibility and moon disk illumination were available; however, the area preceding the runway is a marsh and lacks cultural lighting, which can result in black-hole conditions in which pilots may perceive the airplane to be higher than it actually is while conducting an approach visually. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot experiencing the black hole illusion which contributed to him flying an approach profile that was too low for the distance remaining to the runway. It is likely that the pilot did not maintain adequate crosscheck of his altimeter and radar altimeter during the approach and that the copilot did not monitor the airplane's progress; thus, the flight crew did not recognize that they were not maintaining a safe approach path. Further, it is likely that neither pilot used the visual glidepath indicator at the airport, which is intended to be a countermeasure against premature descent in visual conditions.

Crashed in unknown circumstances in a field located in Maryevka while completing a crop spraying mission. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was engaged in a crop spraying mission over plantation located near Aksarino, Republic of Tatarstan, and the aircraft was carrying a load of 1,200 kilos of fertilizers. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing, the engine encountered technical problems. The pilot elected to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in a field and came to rest. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and the pilot was uninjured.

The history of occurrence was established based on the witnesses’ statements. On 31.07.2015, the aircraft AN-2 registered YR-PEG was positioned on a flight field in the vicinity of the farm in Stӑncuţa commune, Brăila County, being prepared in order to perform several aviochemical flights in Giurgeni area on the following day. In the morning of 01.08.2015, the pilot and the aeronautical technical staff from his team were informed by the beneficiary of aviochemical works that, because it was raining in Giurgeni area, they will perform some aviochemical flights in Stӑncuţa area, in the vicinity of the flight field. Consequently, the aircraft was prepared for the flight in the area as follows: 200 l of gasoline were defueled from the aircraft tanks, the engine was started and the operating parameters were checked according to the specific diagram. The aircraft was supplied with chemical substances for the aerial work and after only a few minutes, the engine was started again, in order to take-off. Onboard there were the pilot and an aeronautical technician (hereinafter referred to as passenger) who occupied the pilot's seat on the right. The take-off on the S-N direction was normal in the first part. The take-off run was short – approximately 100 m, in the witnesses’ opinion – under the conditions of a gusty wind from the E direction, whose speed was gradually increasing. During the initial climb, at a height of about 15-20 m, the aircraft began to lean to the left and descend slightly. During this turn in descent, bank angle continued to increase, the aircraft flying with the left wing at very low height above the aircrafts parked towards the northern end of the flight field. Considering the aircraft evolution and observing that the pilot was not acting for correction, the passenger onboard on the right-hand pilot seat, tried instinctively to turn the aircraft control yoke to the right. According to his statement, he failed to operate the control yoke, considering that this was in a blocking state of which nature he could not specify. With the engine still running in take-off mode, the aircraft continued to descend, and after passing the parked aircrafts, it hit the ground with the propeller and the left wing tip. The impact of the wing tip determined the aircraft to pivot to the left and make a hard contact with the ground. The engine stopped because of the shock. An early fire was extinguished by witnesses arrived at the accident site. Amid the destruction of the cockpit and fuselage, the pilot was thrown out of the aircraft suffering serious injuries. The passenger, who occupied the right-hand seat, managed (after recovering from the shock) to exit the aircraft wreckage. The pilot and passenger were transported to the hospital. Later on, the pilot died due to multiple traumatic injuries, and the passenger required a long hospitalization period due to the injuries suffered. The aircraft was totally destroyed. There was no other damage in the area.

The single engine aircraft was engaged in a crop spraying mission on behalf of the Mikhail Farm located in the Tatsinsky District of the Rostov Region. The aircraft was carrying 400 kilos of fuel, 1,200 liters of pesticides, one pilot and one boy aged 13, the son of the farmer. Few minutes after takeoff, while approaching the area to be treated at a height of about 20-25 metres and at a speed of 130 km/h, the engine failed. The aircraft lost height, collided with power cables and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The wreckage was found 2 km from the Mikhail farmhouse. The pilot escaped unhurt while the boy was injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

The pilot was engaged in an agricultural spraying mission. In unknown circumstances, the single engine aircraft impacted terrain and came to rest against a small hill in Mount Linton. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and the pilot, sole aboard, was seriously injured.