- Date
- August 22, 1994, 19:33 local (Aug 23, 1994, 00:33 UTC)
- Place
- Clifton, IL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8971HGrumman G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940822022709A
- Case key
- 9648
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 pilots failure to keep visual contact with and to avoid unmarked powerlines adjacent to the crop field he was spraying.
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 agricultural application airplane was making an application turn when it struck unmarked but known wires. The pilot egressed the airplane without assistance and the airplane was destroyed by post-crash fire. No mechanical discrepancy was noted by the pilot, nor found during post crash inspection.
Factual narrative
On August 22, 1994, at 1933 central daylight time, a Grumman G- 164A, operated by Benoit Aerial Spraying of Kankakee, Illinois, as an agricultural aircraft, impacted powerlines 2 miles east of Clifton, Illinois, during aerial application and was destroyed. The commercially certificated pilot received minor injuries, egressed the airplane without assistance, the on board chemicals were spilled, and a post crash fire occurred.
Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The flight operated under 14 CFR Part 137 and had originated from a private strip near Kankakee, Illinois. The pilot stated that he contacted the known but unmarked powerlines during an application turn. He did not indicate, nor were any pre-impact mechanical discrepancies noted during the investigation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8971H
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1413
- Engine
- P&W R1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Benoit Aerial Spraying, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- PVT · Benoit Strip, 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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CMI, 35 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.
Other investigations on N8971H · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.