CROSBY, ND, USA
N9561P
PIPER PA-25-260
THE PILOT OF THE AGRICULTURAL SPRAY PLANE WAS ATTEMPTING TO TAKEOFF FROM HIS ROUGH, TURF FARM STRIP. HE SAID HE FELT THE LEFT MAIN GEAR WHEEL 'DROP IN A RIDGE' DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, AND THAT THE SPRAY BOOM SUBSEQUENTLY CAUGHT IN THE WHEAT BORDERING THE RUNWAY. HE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL, AND THE AIRPLANE WENT INTO THE WHEAT FIELD. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE WERE CLAIMED OR DISCOVERED.
On July 8, 1994, about 1515 central daylight time, a Piper PA-25 airplane, N9561P, sustained substantial damage during an attempted takeoff from a private airstrip in Crosby, North Dakota. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without flight plan under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot reported he was attempting to takeoff from the narrow airstrip with an empty chemical hopper for a local flight. He wrote in his report to the NTSB that the north/south oriented turf runway he selected for takeoff was much rougher than the east/west runway, but that the twenty knot prevailing wind from the north favored a takeoff to the north. During the takeoff roll, the pilot said that he felt the left main wheel "drop in a ridge" and that the spray boom subsequently caught in the adjacent wheat crop. The pilot lost directional control, and the airplane went into the wheat field.
the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll. Factors associated with the accident are the rough runway, and the pilot's improper preflight planning.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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