Piper PA-25-260C accident near Ashburn, Georgia, May 8, 1985
On May 8, 1985, a Piper PA-25-260C, registered N4796Y, was destroyed in an accident near Ashburn, Georgia (Daigneau AG Strip airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- May 8, 1985
- Place
- Ashburn, Georgia · Daigneau AG Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25-260C · all PA-25-260Cs on the register
- Registration
- N4796Y · no longer on the register · serial 25-4574
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS ON A FLT TO CLEAN THE SPRAY BOOM BY FLYING DOWN THE CENTER OF THE AIRSTRIP & DISPENSING A CLEANING SUBSTANCE THRU THE SPRAY BOOM. HE MADE ONE PASS DOWN THE STRIP, THEN ENTERED A PULL-UP TO THE RIGHT. HE STATED THAT HE THEN TURNED BACK TO THE LEFT & REDUCED POWER TO LAND IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. HOWEVER, HE SAW THAT THE ACFT WAS GOING TO OVERSHOOT THE RWY, SO HE TIGHTENED HIS TURN. THE ACFT STALLED WHILE IT WAS LESS THAN 100 FT AGL. THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER BEFORE THE ACFT HIT THE GROUND. IT IMPACTED IN AN UPRIGHT ATTITUDE & WAS DAMAGED. A FIRE THEN ERUPTED & DESTROYED THE ACFT.
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
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 1,800 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 3,370 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,812 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 23, 1985; 24 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-G1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 4,800 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.