CEN25LA323

NTSB accident investigation · Grumman American Avn. G-164B · Fowler, IN · August 15, 2025

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
August 15, 2025, 19:10 local (23:10 UTC)
Place
Fowler, IN
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Maneuvering
Aircraft
N7015NGrumman American Avn. G-164B
Defining event
Maneuvering: Loss of engine power (total)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
FAA
FAA report
20250815010979A
Case key
200811

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On August 15, 2025, about 1910 eastern daylight time, a Grumman American Avn. Corp. G-164-B airplane, N7015N, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fowler, Indiana. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. According to the pilot, he departed a private airstrip just north of Sheldon, Illinois, earlier that day and had been flying for about 5 hours, stopping a few times for fuel and aerial application product. He was on his last spray run of the day when the engine suddenly stopped. The pilot advanced the throttle, but there was no response from the engine. He landed the airplane in a bean field. The wings and fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot estimated that he had about 60 gallons of fuel on board at the time of the accident. The engine was overhauled 6 weeks before the accident and had accumulated about 155 hours. A postaccident examination revealed that the sensing line for the fuel control unit was severed. The airplane was retained for further examination.

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.

Aircraft

Registration
N7015N
Reported as
Grumman American Avn. G-164B
Category
Airplane
Serial number
129B
Built
1976
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Aerial application · Part 137
Operator
Christopher Larson
Registered owner
Zumwalt Aviation LLC
Departed
NA · Sheldon, IL
Destination
NA · Sheldon, IL

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.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
190° at 4 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
90 °F, dew point 70 °F
Altimeter
30.07 inHg
Observed at
KLAF, 21 nm away
METAR
KLAF 152254Z 19004KT 10SM CLR 32/21 A3007

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.