FTW98LA194

At the end of a pass to apply rice seed to a field, during the turn to reverse direction, the pilot lost control of the agricultural airplane. The airplane became inverted at an altitude of approximately 100 feet, and the pilot was unable to recover prior to ground impact. Winds reported by the pilot were from the southeast at 20 to 35 knots, and he commented that the accident could have been prevented by not flying with wind gusts greater than 35 knots.

On April 25, 1998, approximately 1100 central daylight time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B agricultural airplane, was destroyed by ground impact and a post-crash fire following a loss of control while maneuvering near Oberlin, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to Red River Ag Service of Alexandria, Louisiana, and operated by Kinder Ag Service of Kinder, Louisiana. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 137 local aerial application flight.

According to the FAA inspector who examined the accident site, the airplane was applying rice seed to a field using north-south passes. The airplane impacted in a plowed field south of the field being seeded on a magnetic heading of approximately 300 degrees, "in a nose down attitude."

The pilot reported that the airplane "became inverted in left turn at altitude of 75-100 feet, [and he was] unable to recover." He further reported that the wind was from the southeast at 20 to 35 knots and commented that the accident could have been prevented by not flying "with wind gusts greater than 35 kts."

At 1051, reported winds at Lake Charles, Louisiana, located approximately 35 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, were from 180 degrees at 15 knots with gusts to 21 knots.