Piper PA-25-235 accident near Greenville, North Carolina, August 21, 1984
On August 21, 1984 at about 11:41 pm local time, a Piper PA-25-235, registered N4851Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Greenville, North Carolina. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 21, 1984 · about 11:41 pm local time
- Place
- Greenville, North Carolina
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25-235 · all PA-25-235s on the register
- Registration
- N4851Y · no longer on the register · serial 254651
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT MADE A STEEP TURN AFTER COMPLETING A LOW PASS AND SPRAYING A FIELD. PLT STATED THAT WHILE IN THE TURN THE ACFT ENCOUNTERED WIND GUST THAT ROLLED THE ACFT INVERTED. THE ACFT STALLED. THE PLT WAS ABLE TO ROLL OUT OF INVERTED BEFORE GROUND COLLISION.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,750 hours in all; 1,810 in this make and model; 251 in the last 90 days; 3,668 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,314 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 9, 1984; 201 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-B2B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Farmville NC at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from RWI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.