- Date
- July 17, 2002, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Browning, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N623UGrumman G-164
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 55252
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 failure of the pilot-in-command to maintain sufficient airspeed while maneuvering. The initial stages of a stall/mush condition, and the low maneuvering altitude due to the agricultural application pass, were contributing factors.
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
On July 17, 2002, at 1245 central daylight time, a Grumman G-164, N623U, piloted by commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it gradually descended into and impacted a field after making an agricultural application pass near Browning, Illinois. The airplane had departed Schuy-Rush Airport (5K4), Rushville, Illinois, for the local flight at 1230. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was operating under provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 at the time of the accident. The pilot was not injured.
Factual narrative
On July 17, 2002, at 1245 central daylight time, a Grumman G-164, N623U, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it gradually descended into and impacted a field, after making an agricultural application pass, near Browning, Illinois. The airplane had departed Schuy-Rush Airport (5K4), Rushville, Illinois, for the local flight at 1230. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was operating under provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 at the time of the accident. The pilot was not injured.
The pilot stated that after making an agricultural pass he "pulled up over [the] trees and turned left . . . and got too slow, which I realized when I looked up. Aircraft settled and I dropped [the] nose to gain speed. But at [the] last second [I] pulled [the] nose up and contacted [the] ground. [The impact] spread the gear enough for the spreader to hit [the] ground, then [the] prop struck [the] ground and [the] aircraft went up on [its] nose and over on top."
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate, with an airplane--single-engine land rating, and a valid 2nd class medical certificate. He last passed a biennial flight review on August 20, 2001, and had accumulated over 4,900 hours total flight time. Of that, 2,500 hours were in the same make and model as the accident aircraft.
The Grumman G-164 airplane, S/N 359, involved in the accident had completed an annual inspection on March 17, 2002, and accumulated a total time of 5,563 hours on the airframe (as reported by the pilot/owner). Eleven (11) hours of that time had been since the annual. The Pratt & Whitney, R-985 series, engine installed had accumulated 265 hours since last overhaul. The pilot did not report any malfunctions or failures associated with the aircraft or engine prior to, or at the time of, the accident.
Weather conditions at the scene were reported by the pilot as clear, with fifteen (15) miles visibility, light southerly winds (2 kts) and no turbulence. Conditions at the Quincy Regional Airport (UIN), 39 nm to the south-west, were reported as clear, with ten (10) miles visibility and winds from 220 degrees at eight (8) knots by the on-field AWOS. Capital Airport (SPI), Springfield, Illinois, reported conditions as clear, with five (5) miles visibility in haze and winds from 230 degrees at seven (7) knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N623U
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 359
- Airframe hours
- 5,553
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 2002 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- 5K4 · Rushville, IL
- Destination
- 5K4 · Rushville, IL
- Airport
- 5K4 · Schuy-Rush, runway 27, 3,565 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- March 17, 2002
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 4,934 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- UIN, 39 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 28, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 492 KB in all.