Aero Commander S2R N1734S accident near Cordova, Illinois

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with terrain after clearing an obstacle during an agricultural application pass.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. A witness stated that the airplane pulled up over a house, located about mid-field, during a spray run. The witness commented that the airplane pulled up higher than others he had observed, adding that most airplanes “just skim[ed] the trees” when they flew over the house. He reported that the accident airplane dropped back down after it cleared the house, apparently to resume spraying; however, it impacted the ground. The airplane bounced once before settling back down and sliding to a stop. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any failures or malfunctions consistent with a preimpact failure. The pilot had about 200 hours of agricultural application experience the previous season. However, he had recently started flying the accident airplane, which was about 15 knots faster in spray runs than the airplane the pilot had flown the previous season. The pilot had accumulated about 28 hours in the accident airplane. Postmortem toxicology testing on the pilot’s blood was consistent with use of marijuana and propoxyphene, a prescription narcotic painkiller. However, the source of the blood was not specified. Accordingly, a reliable estimate could not be made of the time of last use or the probability of impairment due to either substance. The pilot had not indicated the use of any medication or illegal drugs or the presence of any medical condition at the time of his most recent medical certificate application.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09LA355 for the full record.