- Date
- April 16, 2008, 06:40 local (11:40 UTC)
- Place
- Angleton, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8237KGulfstream-Schweizer G-164B
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20080416831809A
- Case key
- 67838
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 inadequate visual lookout and his failure to maintain clearance from the tranmission lines. A factor in this accident was the unmarked transmission wires.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was spraying a herbicide on a rice field. He pulled up to make a turn and reverse direction to making another pass when the airplane struck two wires at the top of unmarked transmission lines. The airplane crossed a highway and impacted into an adjacent field, destroying the airplane.
Factual narrative
On April 16, 2008, approximately 0640 central daylight time, a Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B, N8237K, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed when it struck power lines and impacted terrain while maneuvering near Angleton, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The aerial applications flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 137 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant aboard, sustained minor injuries. The local flight originated at Danbury, Texas, approximately 0635.
According to the pilot's accident report, he was spraying a herbicide on a rice field. He pulled up to make a turn and reverse direction to making another pass and the airplane struck two ground wires at the top of unmarked transmission lines. The airplane crossed a highway and impacted into an adjacent field. The airplane was destroyed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8237K
- Reported as
- Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 626B
- Airframe hours
- 7,030
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Garrett Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2008 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- 77XS · Danbury, TX
- Destination
- 77XS
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 62
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2007
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 23,020 total · 20,000 in this make and model · 22,800 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- HOU, 47 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.