Lodi Airport, Lodi, California

Accident occurred Thursday, June 19, 2008 in Lodi, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 7/30/2008
Aircraft: Piper PA-36-375, registration: N3859E
Injuries: 1 Minor.
The pilot was flying low over a grape vineyard to apply sulfur dust to the crop. He had made two application runs with no problems encountered. As he set up for the third run, he observed that the sulfur applied on the previous two runs had aggregated into a cloud and had drifted through the area in which he would be flying. He decided to continue the application run, and lost all visual contact with the ground as the airplane flew into the sulfur dust cloud. The left wing hit a grape trellis, which pulled the airplane down and to the left. The airplane traveled 150 yards on top of the grape trellises before stopping inverted on the ground. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane during the flight.
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On June 12, 2007, at approximately 1050 Pacific daylight time, a Quad City Ultralight Aircraft, Challenger II experimental light sport aircraft (ELSA), N204DC, was substantially damaged when its right wing separated in flight near Lodi, California. The sport pilot, the sole occupant in the aircraft, was not injured. The pilot/owner was operating the aircraft under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal, local flight, which had originated approximately 5 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed.

The pilot said that he was maneuvering at 2,000 feet above the ground when the right wing separated from the aircraft. He said that the aircraft was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) emergency parachute, which he immediately deployed. The pilot said that the fuselage and left wing came to rest in a grape vineyard, and he was able to walk away uninjured.

Postaccident examination of the wreckage, by a fellow Challenger II pilot, revealed that the "rony bracket" that attaches the forward lift strut to the fuselage had failed. The bracket was not attached per the Challenger II building manual. The manufacturer's instructions state that the bolt should only be snug. It also warns to not over tighten these bolts holding the brackets to the hollow tubes and that there should be no more than two threads showing past the nut. The bolt on this rony bracket, on the accident aircraft, had at least five to six threads showing. Additionally, the end of the hollow tube was deformed into an oval shape and not round. The remaining rony brackets did have only two threads showing and they could be rotated by hand, per the manufacturer's instructions.
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On August 22, 2006, at 1200 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 99 airplane, N205TC, was substantially damaged when a skydiver impacted the horizontal stabilizer during a skydiving jump near Lodi, California. The pilot and 12 other skydivers were not injured; the skydiver that impacted the horizontal stabilizer sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated by Parachute Center. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 skydiving flight. The local flight originated from the Lodi Airport at an unknown time.

According to statements from the operator and three other skydivers, the skydiver jumped up when he exited the airplane exposing himself to the propeller blast, which drove him aft to the horizontal stabilizer. He hit the horizontal stabilizer and then fell from the leading edge. The skydiver was equipped with an emergency parachute deployment system, which opened his canopy.

According to the statements provided by the other skydivers, the accident skydiver jumped up in a similar manner the day before the accident flight. He was warned not to jump up when he exited the airplane as he barely missed the horizontal stabilizer the day before. In addition, the skydivers were instructed to stay low and not to jump out of the door just moments before the accident skydiver jumped out.

The skydiver had accumulated about 200 jumps, most of which were out of the accident airplane.
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