# Accident 19981201032569A: Scwzer G164B, Fort Gaines, GA, December 1, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 1, 1998, 16:00 local time - Place: Fort Gaines, GA - Airport: Fort Gaines-Clay County Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct) - Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137) - Operator: J1TG - Location: 31.5347° N, 85.0175° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.5347&lon=-85.0175&mi=10 - Aircraft: N6630Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6630Q-2005-01-31) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B (registry code 3952802, https://openairdocs.org/model/grumman-acft-eng-cor-schweizer-g-164b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R-985 series (registry code 52008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r-985-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SCWZER G164B - Reported engine: GARRTT TPE331625 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 11,000 total, 600 in this make and model, 300 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA99LA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA041) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981201032569A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT LOST POWER ON TAKE-OFF AND CRASHED. (.4) THE FLIGHT WAS LOADED WITH FERTILIZER AND HAD TAKEN OFF, WHEN THE ENGINE LOST POWER. THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING, AND THE AIRPLANE'S LANDING GEAR WENT INTO A DITCH AND SEPARTED. THE PILOT HAD MADE 3 PREVIOUS TAKEOFFS UNDER SIMILAR LOAD CONDITIONS WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE PILOT SAID, 'INITIALLY DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL THE AIRCRAFT ACCELERATED NORMALLY.' HOWEVER, IMMEDIATELY AFTER BREAKING GROUND, DURING THE INITIAL CLIMBOUT, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO LOOSE POWER, AND THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO LOOSE LIFT. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO SINK WITH PARTIAL POWER UNTIL IMPACT. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO EXTERIOR DAMAGE. THE ENGINE TEARDOWN REVEALED THAT IMPROPER ATOMIZATION OF THE FUEL RESULTED IN A NON-ATOMIZED FUEL STREAM AT THE FIRST-STAGE TURBINE ROTOR. THE SUBSEQUENT ATOMIZATION AND IGNITION OF THIS FUEL RESULTED IN A LOCALIZED AREA OF INCREASED TEMPERATURE AND NON-UNIFORM THERMAL DAMAGE TO THE SECOND-AND THIRD-STAGE TURBINE STATORS. THE LOCALIZED AREA OF INCREASED TEMPERATURE RESULTED IN THERMAL DAMAGE TO THE SECOND- AND THIRD-STAGE TURBINE ROTORS, AND INCREASED SECOND- AND THIRD-STAGE TURBINE ROTOR BLADE TIP CLEARANCE, RENDERING THE ENGINE INCAPABLE OF PRODUCING FULL POWER. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM COMPONENTS CONTRIBUTED TO THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER REPORTED DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. (-23) ON DECEMBER 1, 1998, AFTER 3 TAKE OFFS, AND DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER THE LAST TAKE OFF, AIRCRAFT N6630Q POWERPLANT LOST POWER. PILOT EASLEY TURNED THE AIRCRAFT 30 DEGREES APPROXIMATELY TO THE RIGHT OF RUNWAY HEADING AND LANDED IN A FIELD. THE FIELD CONTAINED A SMALL DITCH WHICH SHEARED OFF THE LEFT LANDING GEAR. NO FIRE AND NO INJURIES. AIRCRAFT DAMAGE SUBSTANTIAL. FUEL FILTER APPEARED CONTAMINATED. ENGINE INTAKE RESTRICTED DUE TO BUILDUP OF SOLID FERTILIZER. THE FUEL HEATER LINES WERE PLUGGED WITH CAPS. THE ELECTRIDAL WIRE TO THE SHUT OFF VALVE CLOSING POSITION WAS BROKEN. NOTE: A CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANNED INCLUDES FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO THE POWERPLANT INSTALLATION AND FUEL FILTERES. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA99LA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA041), Dec 1, 1998: Grumman-Schweizer G-164B (N6630Q), Fort Gains, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: a power loss due to internal damage to the second- and third- stage turbine rotor blades, due to thermal heat, rendering the engine incapable of producing full power, resulting in a forced landing,… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.