PIPER PA-36-300

Full Narrative

On June 11, 2026, at 2103 central daylight time, a Piper PA-36-300, N57846, was substantially damaged when it impacted a rotating beacon tower and terrain near Henderson, Nebraska. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 agricultural flight.
According to the agricultural application operator, the pilot was performing a mosquito abatement aerial application flight at dusk.
Review of security surveillance video footage from a camera located about 421 ft southeast of an unlit tower, showed that the airplane was flying from east to west and collided with the approximately 50 ft tall tower. At the time of the collision, the video showed the airplane was traveling toward the setting sun. Recorded Spidertrack data showed that the flight departed at 2052, with a total flight duration of 11 minutes. Preliminary ADS-B data indicated that the airplane was on a heading of about 268° magnetic at an altitude of 40 ft above ground level when the collision occurred.
According to the United States Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department, at 2100 the position of the sun was 0.2° above the horizon, on an azimuth of 301.6° magnetic.
The accident site was located in a bean field about 280 ft west of the unlit tower. The first identified point of contact with the ground was a series of ground scars located about 272 ft from the tower, on a heading of 275° magnetic. The airplane came to rest about 57 ft west of the initial point of terrain impact, on a heading of 090° magnetic. About 4 ft of the inboard right wing and flap remained attached at the fuselage, and the remainder of the right wing came to rest about 20 ft south of the fuselage. Witness marks on the inboard section of right wing showed concave depressions at the leading edge about 12 inches from the wing root.
The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage, empennage, left wing, engine and the propeller. The fuselage sustained impact damage and the cockpit structure was mostly intact with deformation observed to the floor section in downward displacement. The left wing was partially separated from the fuselage with impact damage sustained to the wing root, with the flap and aileron present. The vertical stabilizer, rudder, left side vertical stabilizer and elevator remained attached and were unremarkable. The right side horizontal stabilizer and elevator remained attached and sustained impact damage.
The engine was partially separated from the forward fuselage, and all four engine mounts were fractured. The two blade constant speed propeller remained attached to the crankshaft propeller flange. Both propeller blades remained attached to the propeller hub, with one of the blades bent forward and the outboard 11 inches was fracture separated and located about 75 ft south of the tower and perpendicular to the direction flight. The opposite propeller blade was bent aft about 80° opposite the direction of rotation and exhibited gouging on the leading edge.