Piper PA-36 accident near Plover, Wisconsin, June 22, 1987
On June 22, 1987 at about 12:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-36, registered N57791, was destroyed in an accident near Plover, Wisconsin. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- June 22, 1987 · about 12:30 pm local time
- Place
- Plover, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-36 · all PA-36s on the register
- Registration
- N57791 · no longer on the register · serial 36-7660105
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER SPRAYING MOST OF A BEAN CROP, THE PLT WAS MAKING CLEAN-UP SWATHS OVER AN AREA AT THE NORTH SIDE OF THE FIELD. THIS AREA HAD BLDGS TO THE WEST & TREES TO THE EAST. TO AVOID FLYING TOWARD THE BLDGS, THE PLT ELECTED TO MAKE THE PASSES TO THE EAST (TOWARD THE SUN). AS HE WAS PULLING UP FROM THE 3RD CLEAN-UP SWATH, THE ACFT ROSE ABOVE THE SHORTER TREES; HOWEVER, THE PLT DID NOT SEE A TALLER TREE DUE TO SUNGLARE & CHEMICAL SPRAY ON HIS WINDSHIELD. THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE TALL TREE, THEN THE ACFT YAWED TO THE LEFT, CRASHED & WAS EXTENSIVELY DMGD.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,451 hours in all; 828 in this make and model; 103 in the last 90 days; 4,280 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 4, 1987; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-720 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 8W13 Plover WI at 12:50 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: ovct at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:51 pm from AUW, 27 miles away
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.