Piper PA-36-285 accident near Bovina, Texas, June 29, 2000
On June 29, 2000 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-36-285, registered N57596, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bovina, Texas (Rhodes Crop Care airport). 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 pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in the pilot exceeding the aircraft's takeoff performance. Factors were the high density altitude and the pilot's delayed load jettison.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 29, 2000 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bovina, Texas · Rhodes Crop Care · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-36-285 · all PA-36-285s on the register
- Registration
- N57596 · no longer on the register · serial 367560131
- 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 agricultural airplane, carrying a full load of fertilizer, 'could not fly out of ground effect' during takeoff from a private airstrip. As the airplane neared the end of the airstrip and encroached on an irrigation system, the pilot pulled the nose of the airplane up and initiated a load dump. The pilot stated that he did not put the dump handle in the emergency dump position, and the fertilizer 'was not dumped quick enough.' The airplane stalled after clearing the irrigation system and impacted the ground. The density altitude, at the time of the accident, was calculated by the NTSB investigator-in-charge to be approximately 5,730 feet. The pilot reported that a 'lighter load for conditions' would have prevented this accident.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,100 hours in all; 75 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 2000
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 4,200 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from CVS, 23 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.