- Date
- July 9, 2010, 18:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chillicothe, MO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6513KGrumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100709037199A
- Case key
- 76588
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 pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The aerial application flight was one of several that day at the same aircraft weight, ambient temperature, and wind speed. Due to some variable winds, the pilot elected to takeoff in a different direction from the previous flights. Approximately 30 feet above ground level and above the tree line, the pilot felt the airplane begin to sink and he was unable to maintain altitude. He stated, "I believe there was a very small wind shear or wind shift just above the tree line and I had not yet achieved enough forward airspeed to overcome the loss in lift." The airplane impacted terrain and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed the engine was separated from the airframe and the empennage was bent. No anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The accident day was the first time the pilot conducted aerial application flight activity.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, the aerial application flight was one of several that day at the same aircraft weight, ambient temperature, and wind speed. Due to some variable winds, the pilot elected to takeoff in a different direction from the previous flights. Approximately 30 feet above ground level and above the tree line, the pilot felt the airplane begin to sink and he was unable to maintain altitude. He stated, "I believe there was a very small wind shear or wind shift just above the tree line and I had not yet achieved enough forward airspeed to overcome the loss in lift." The airplane impacted terrain and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed the engine was separated from the airframe and the empennage was bent. No anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The accident day was the first time the pilot conducted aerial application flight activity.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6513K
- Reported as
- Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 347B
- Airframe hours
- 11,000
- Engine
- P&W R-985 SERIES, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 14, 2009
- Departed
- CHT · Chillicothe, MO
- Destination
- CHT · Chillicothe, MO
- Airport
- CHT · Chillicothe Municipal Airport, runway 14, 3,899 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 42
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 23, 2010
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 25 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 13, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 313 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.