- Date
- May 19, 1994, 20:00 local (May 20, 1994, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hillsboro, ND
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N551YGrumman G-164
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 7, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940519011799A
- Case key
- 9535
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 a tree.
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 pilot reported he was performing aerial application and he pulled up late from a swath run and impacted the top of a tree. He said the airplane was still flying but as it slowed he lost control and impacted the terrain.
Factual narrative
On May 19, 1994, about 2000 central daylight time, a Grumman G-164, N551Y, operated by Pro Air Service, Inc. was destroyed during an aerial application swath run near Hillsboro, North Dakota. The solo commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The local, 14 CFR Part 137 flight originated about 1930. A flight plan was not filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot reported he "pulled up a little late and caught the top of a cottonwood tree" which damaged the leading edge of the left wing. He wrote "the airplane was still flying for a little bit, but as it slowed down it started to go into a spin. I got the spin stopped and I was trying to dump the load, but ran out of room and hit the ground."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N551Y
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 116
- Airframe hours
- 8,130
- Engine
- P&W R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Pro Air Service Inc
- Registered owner
- Pro Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 5, 1994 · 8 hours before
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
- 22
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 450 total · 100 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAR, 28 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.