Aerial agriculture aircraft

QBE Aviation s records included a total of sixty-one (61) aerial agriculture aircraft accidents that had occirrred in the period May 2002 to October 2005. However, reliable causation information was available for only 44 of those events. Records on the other 17 accidents were limited to a basic event description and detailed claims cost information for each case. 

Fortunately, in comparison to the number of missions flown by agricultural aircraft, the incidence of significant drift incidents is low. It is the responsibility of all applicators to ensure that the aerial application of pesticides is optimised to avoid any off-target movement of pesticide which could have the potential to cause adverse economic impact or damage to the environment. 

As a result of its use as an insecticide on cotton, fruit trees, vegetables, and other crops, methyl parathion is released directly to the atmosphere during application. It is applied primarily by spraying from aircraft or ground equipment (NPIRS 1986). Aerial application of methyl parathion to agricultural fields releases the insecticide to the air. 

Many agricultural and public health operations are carried out around the world using aircraft. From controlling mosquitoes in Florida to eradicating mice in Australia, specialised aircraft perform tens of thousands of operations every year. In the United States, some 4100 aircraft are registered for aerial application. It is estimated that approximately 25% of the 125 million hectares harvested in the USA in 1998 were treated with crop protection products using aircraft. In Australia, some 300 aircraft are used to apply about 20% of the local crop protection chemical market to an average of about 10 million hectares annually. 

So what is the future of agricultural aviation The author remains confident that aircraft provide a viable and efficient means of pesticide delivery in a wide range of environments and situations. How then should aerial application be managed to reduce the potential threat of off-target damage and spray drift ... 

Akesson, N.B., in "What s Happening in Aerial Application Research" Yates, W.E. Cowden, personal communication. Wilce, S.E., in "Drop Size Control and Aircraft Spray Equipment" Akesson, N.B. Yates, W.E. Christensen, P. Cowden, R.E. Hudson, D.C. Weigt, G.I. Agricultural Aviation, 1974 Vol. 16 (1), p. 7-16. 

Applications for materials such as these are in boat hulls, architectural panels and structures, vehicle components, swimming pools and filter parts, athletic equipment, housings for products like computers, office-, business-, medical-, testing-, and display equipment, and storage tanks. Further uses include agricultural fertilizer and feed hoppers, pig and other animal stalls, furniture, bathroom components like shower stalls and modular tub-wall segments, aircraft primary and secondary structures, toys, and many products that must exist in all types of corrosive environments. Pultruded parts include electrical insulators, boom arms for aerial-lift trucks, luggage racks, channels, beams, solid rods, and L beams. 

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