- Date
- October 12, 1997, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sylvania, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4983Grumman-Schweizer G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971012038009A
- Case key
- 3938
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilots failure to maintain clearance from transmission wires.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, he was flying on a westerly magnetic heading, into the sun, and did not see the power lines prior to the collision. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Factual narrative
On October 12, 1997, about 1700 eastern daylight time, a Grumman Schweizer Aircraft Corporation G-164A, N4983, collided with power lines during an aerial application swath run near Sylvania, Georgia. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 137, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan was not filed for the aerial application flight. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight originated at 1645 hours from a private strip in Sylvania, Georgia. According to the pilot, he was flying on a westerly magnetic heading, into the sun, and did not see the power lines prior to the collision. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
The inspector stated that the airplane was substantially damaged by impact, then destroyed by post impact fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4983
- Reported as
- Grumman-Schweizer G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1105
- Airframe hours
- 1,954
- Engine
- P&W R1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Robert E. Johnston
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 22, 1997 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Sylvania, GA
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 58
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,800 total · 150 in this make and model · 50 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAV, 60 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.