Skip to content

CEN12CA221

2012-04-02 · Ganado, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport NONE

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The improper positioning of the hopper vent, which allowed chemicals to escape and cover the airplane's windshield.

Factual narrative

On the day before the accident, the pilot installed dry fertilizer equipment on the airplane. Later that afternoon, the pilot removed the dry fertilizer equipment and installed spray booms and a spray pump in preparation for dispensing a liquid chemical the next day. The following day, during the takeoff roll, chemical started covering the windshield. The windshield washer had no effect. The pilot lost all outside visual references and was unable to maintain level flight. The airplane impacted the ground and slid to a stop. Postaccident examination revealed the hopper vent had not been turned around. The hopper was still pressurized and chemical blew out of the hopper lid onto the windshield. On the day before the accident, the pilot installed dry fertilizer equipment on the airplane. Later that afternoon, the pilot removed the dry fertilizer equipment and installed spray booms and a spray pump in preparation for dispensing a liquid chemical the next day. The following day, during the takeoff roll, chemicals started covering the windshield, and the windshield washer had no effect. The pilot lost all outside visual references and was unable to maintain level flight. The airplane impacted the ground and slid to a stop. Postaccident examination revealed that the hopper vent had not been turned around. The hopper was still pressurized and chemicals blew out of the hopper lid onto the windshield. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Windows-windshield system-(general)-Damaged/degraded
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft handling/service-Loading-(general)-Incorrect use/operation - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_CEN12CA221.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers