# NTSB CHI05CA207: Allied Ag Cat Productions G-164A, N8951H, Trufant, MI, July 31, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 31, 2005, 08:00 local (12:00 UTC) - Place: Trufant, MI - Coordinates: 43.45222, -85.264724 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.4522&lon=-85.2647&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 27, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Grand Rapids, MI, FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 62173 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI05CA207 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62173/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05CA207 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and not maintaining clearance from the watering pivot during the aerial application maneuver and the unsuitable terrain he encountered during the emergency landing. A factor was the sunglare encountered. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, maneuvering - aerial application - visual lookout - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - light condition - sunglare (contributing factor) - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - altitude - low - In flight collision with terrain/water, emergency descent/landing - terrain condition - crop ## Analysis The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with an object and a field during an aerial application maneuver. The pilot stated, "The contributing factor or cause of the accident was the aircraft was flying into the sun at 8:00 AM in the morning making visibility bad. The reason for flying into the east sun was to avoid flying directly at a house. [A] pivot was the object struck causing damage enough to constitute landing in the potato field adjoining the field being sprayed." ## Factual narrative On July 31, 2005, about 0800 eastern daylight time, an Allied Ag Cat Productions, Inc. G-164A airplane, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage on impact with an object and a field near Trufant, Michigan, during an aerial application maneuver. The flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight departed from the Lakeview Airport-Griffith Field, near Lakeview, Michigan, about 0730. The pilot's accident report stated: Ag-aircraft was spraying potato field, making end of the field pass, 2 pivots (watering system) were setting perpendicular with the line of flight, the contributing factor or cause of the accident was the aircraft was flying into the sun at 8:00 AM in the morning making visibility bad. The reason for flying into the east sun was to avoid flying directly at a house. And the second pivot was the object struck causing damage enough to constitute landing in the potato field adjoining the field being sprayed. The United States Naval Observatory showed the altitude and azimuth of the sun as: [hour:minute] Altitude Azimuth(E of N) [degrees] [degrees] ... 07:15 17.2 80.8 07:30 19.9 83.2 07:45 22.7 85.6 08:00 25.5 88.0 08:15 28.2 90.6 ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8951H](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8951H-2013-05-17), registration cancelled 2013-05-17, S/N 1589, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Allied Ag Cat Productions, Inc G-164A - Registry model: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A](https://openairdocs.org/model/grumman-acft-eng-cor-schweizer-g-164a) (registry code 3952801) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney R1340 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (registry code 52016, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1589 - Airframe hours: 9629.3 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney PT6-20 550 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Registered owner: Finup Spraying Service Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 1, 2005, 32 hours before - Departed: 13C, LAKEVIEW, MI ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 42; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2004; seat: center; flight hours: 5,716 total, 817 in this make and model, 250 in the last 90 days, 175 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 22,000 ft broken - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 30.21 inHg - Observed at: GRR ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050731024839A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050731024839A), Jul 31, 2005: Scwzer G164A, Trufant, MI, Substantial damage. (-23) While spraying field pilot was making last runs and to avoid spraying over a house, elected to spray in an easterly direction, into the morning rising… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.