- Date
- July 29, 2002, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- New Roads, LA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N48523Grumman G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 23, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020729021369A
- Case key
- 55336
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 adequate airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin of the airplane.
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
During the aerial application flight, the pilot had aligned the airplane for the third swath when the airplane "snapped hard to the left and went into a spin." During the recovery procedure, the airplane struck the ground at a 45 degree angle. Structural damage was found throughout the airframe.
Factual narrative
On July 29, 2002, at 1030 central daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, single-engine agricultural airplane, N48523, struck the ground following a loss of control while maneuvering near New Roads, Louisiana. The airplane was owned and operated by Ewing Flying Service, LLC., of New Roads, Louisiana, under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. The commercial pilot, sole occupant, received minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial application flight, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed. The aerial application flight departed New Roads at approximately 1000.
On the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) the pilot reported that he had aligned the airplane for the third swath when the airplane "snapped hard to the left and went into a spin." The 27-year old pilot stated that the airplane was about 450 feet above the ground (AGL) when the airplane made a complete spin and started into the second. The pilot was successful in recovering the airplane from the spin; however, due to low altitude, the airplane impacted a soy bean field in a 45-degree angle.
Structural damage was found throughout the airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48523
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1659
- Airframe hours
- 6,800
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-1340 AN-1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Ewing Flying Service, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 2, 2002 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- HZR · New Roads, LA
- 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
- 27
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- January 8, 2002
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,610 total · 150 in this make and model · 1,550 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 88 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 22, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 415 KB in all.
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 N48523 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.