- Date
- August 20, 1996, 11:10 local (16:10 UTC)
- Place
- Galesburg, IL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N904XGrumman G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 23, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960820023459A
- Case key
- 10373
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
failure of the pilot to maintain clearance from trees that protruded into the field that 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 pilot of an aerial application flight was making a swath run next to an irregular field boundary. He said his airplane collided head-on with trees that protruded about 300 feet into the field. The airplane pitched up to a high angle of attack after the tree collision. Shortly thereafter, it collided with the trees a second time before striking the ground. The pilot said his reaction time was not as quick as it should have been.
Factual narrative
On August 20, 1996, at 1110 central daylight time (cdt), a Grumman G-164A Agcat, N904X, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during a collision with trees and the ground. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 137 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported minor injuries. The flight departed Kewanee, Illinois, at 1045 cdt.
During an interview the pilot said he was trying to fly parallel to an uneven tree line next to the field he was going to spray. He said the airplane collided head-on with the trees. After the collision the pilot said he pitched the airplane up at a high angle of attack. Shortly after pitching up the airplane struck the trees a second time, followed by a collision with the ground.
The pilot said this was his first accident during 39 years of flying. He said his reaction time was not as quick as it should have been. The pilot said the trees his airplane collided with protruded into the corn field about 300 feet from its border.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N904X
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 425
- Airframe hours
- 11,066
- Engine
- P&W R-985-AN14B, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Harold'S Flying Service
- Registered owner
- J.P. Agricare, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 27, 1996 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- CO7 · Kewanee, 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 9,226 total · 218 in this make and model · 8,897 as pilot in command · 218 in the last 90 days · 106 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.