- Date
- August 18, 2020, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Scottsbluff, NE
- Injuries
- 2 minor; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N48416Grumman G164
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO Lincoln
- FAA report
- 20200818012849A
- Case key
- 101814
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot’s loss of visual reference during agricultural low-level flight, resulting in collision with power lines.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings.
Analysis
The pilot was flying the agricultural airplane, low-level, applying fertilizer to a field, and running parallel to power lines that bordered the field. When he finished the center of the field, he flew several cleanup passes on some of the edges of the field. He thought that the power lines were to the south of his position and stated that they blended into the tree line. As he came down into the field for a pass, his top wing blocked his forward view, and when he leveled out, he could not avoid the power lines in front of him. The airplane collided with the power lines and impacted the field which was adjacent to a roadway. The airplane came to rest inverted and sustained substantial damage to the wings, the fuselage, and empennage. As the power lines came down, they impacted a moving semi-truck, and pulled down adjacent power line poles. The pilot and the driver of the semi-truck sustained minor injuries. After the accident, the pilot stated that the accident could have been avoided if he had flown around the boarders to double check for obstacles.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48416
- Reported as
- Grumman G164 (B)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22B
- Built
- 1976
- Airframe hours
- 11,125
- Engine
- Honeywell TPE331-2-201A, 715 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 10, 2020 · 347 hours before
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device
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
- 65
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 22, 2019
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 18,671 total · 5,946 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- BFF, 3 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 3, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 13.7 MB 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.