# Accident 20050804024669A: Scwzer G164A, Buchanan, ND, August 4, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 4, 2005, 07:45 local time
- Place: Buchanan, ND
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: UJZG
- Location: 47.1047° N, 98.8425° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.1047&lon=-98.8425&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6858Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6858Q-2007-01-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A (registry code 3952801, https://openairdocs.org/model/grumman-acft-eng-cor-schweizer-g-164a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R1340 series (registry code 52016, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCWZER G164A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,945 total, 381 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI05LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05LA211) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050804024669A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) WITNESSES INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT ARRIVED AT A FIELD OF CORN TO BE SPRAYED AT APPROXIMATELY 0745. THE AIRCRAFT MADE A CIRCUIT OF THE FIELD AND THEN MADE ONE PASS APPLYING CHEMICAL. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRCRAFT DID A PULL UP AND TURN AROUND APPROACHING THE FIELD FROM THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. CUTTING DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE END OF THE FIELD OF MATURE CORN WAS AN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION LINE. THE LINE CONSISTED OF FIVE WIRES STRUNG BETWEEN POLES APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET APART. THE LINES SAGGED IN THE MIDDLE TO ONLY ABOUT 30 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE WIRES, BREAKING FOUR OF THEM AND DAMAGING THE REMAINING WIRE. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED AHEAD FOR ABOUT 200 FEET, CRASHING INTO THE FIELD OF CORN, SKIDDING SIDEWAYS AND COMING TO REST INVERTED. THE SERIOUSLY INJURED PILOT WAS ABLE TO EXTRICATE HIMSELF FROM THE AIRCRAFT JUST BEFORE A FIRE BEGAN, WHICH DESTROYED THE AIRCRAFT. NUMEROUS WIRE STRIKE INDICATIONS WERE OBSERVED ON THE PROPELLER AND LEADING EDGES OF THE REMAINING WINGS. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HAD APPLIED CHEMICAL TO THIS FIELD NUMEROUS TIMES PREVIOUSLY, AND HAD INTENDED TO FLY UNDER THE WIRES. HE SAID HIS VISION OF THE WIRES WAS OBSCURED BY FLYING INTO THE MORNING SUN.

## 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 CHI05LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05LA211), Aug 4, 2005: Grumman G-164A (N6858Q), Buchanan, ND, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot failed to maintain obstacle clearance from the power lines. Factors included the glare on the windshield and the power lines.

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.

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