- Date
- June 10, 2004, 07:00 local (12:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hope, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N48517Grumman-Schweizer G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Fargo FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040610016759A
- Case key
- 59455
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 clearance from the tree branches during the aerial-application flight. A factor to the accident was the trees.
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
The airplane impacted tree branches while performing an aerial application flight. The pilot reported the left wing tip impacted tree branches during the spray-run, resulting in substantial damage to the wing. The pilot stated that an uneventful landing was made after dispensing the remainder of his chemical load.
Factual narrative
On June 10, 2004, at 0700 central daylight time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B, N48517, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during an in-flight collision with tree branches while performing aerial application near Hope, North Dakota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The aerial application flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured. The local flight departed the Hashbarger Farm Airstrip (8NA9), Hope, North Dakota.
According to the pilot's written statement, the accident transpired during the first spray-run of the day. The pilot reported the left wing tip impacted tree branches during the spray-run, resulting in substantial damage to the wing. The pilot stated that an uneventful landing was made after dispensing the remainder of his chemical load.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48517
- Reported as
- Grumman-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 58B
- Airframe hours
- 7,700
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Neil S. Hashbarger
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2003 · 65 hours before
- Departed
- 8NA9 · Hope, ND
- Destination
- 8NA9
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
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- April 21, 2003
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 650 total · 425 in this make and model · 65 in the last 90 days · 65 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- RDR, 40 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.