- Date
- December 3, 1998, 09:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Naponee, NE
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6676QGrumman G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981203032869A
- Case key
- 45388
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 identify the wires prior to spraying the field and the low altitude at which the pilot was flying. A factor was the wires which the airplane contacted.
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 made a swath run to the south. He made a turn back to the north and was flying another swath run at a slightly lower altitude when the airplane collided with two of three wires which crossed the field. The airplane decelerated, rolled 360 degrees, and impacted the terrain in an upright position. The being sprayed was at the bottom of a 'canyon'. The poles from which the wires were suspended were on hills on both sides of the canyon. This was the first time the pilot had sprayed this particular field and he was unaware of the wires.
Factual narrative
On December 3, 1998, at 0900 central standard time, a Grumman G- 164B, N6676Q, operated by a commercial pilot collided with power lines during an aerial application flight in Naponee, Nebraska. The pilot received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 137 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight originated from a private grass airstrip in Naponee, Nebraska, approximately 20 minutes prior to the accident.
The pilot stated that he made a swath run to the south over a field. He made his turn back to the north and was flying another swath run at a slightly lower altitude when the airplane collided with two of three wires which crossed the field. The pilot reported the airplane decelerated, rolled 360 degrees, and impacted the terrain in an upright position.
The pilot reported the field being sprayed was at the bottom of a "canyon". The poles from which the wires were suspended were on hills on both sides of the canyon. This was the first time the pilot had sprayed this particular field and he was unaware of the wires.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6676Q
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 197B
- Airframe hours
- 4,372
- Engine
- P&W R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Aerial Farming
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 10, 1997 · 171 hours before
- Departed
- Naponee, NE
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,477 total · 9,000 in this make and model · 11,300 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
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 N6676Q · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.