- Date
- April 19, 1990, 10:10 local (17:10 UTC)
- Place
- Blythe, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA reports
- 19900419010281A19900419010282A
- Case key
- 26533
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 pilots of N6708K and N10222 to maintain adequate visual lookout and failure of the pilot of N6708K to follow a prearanged procedure for reversing the direction of flight.
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 plts of 2 Grumman G-164 acft (N6708K & N10222) pre-arranged to conduct aerial application at the same fld. They agreed to enter the fld at opposite ends on opposite headings & perform a racetrack pattern. At the completion of each swath, a left turn was planned & the sequence was to be repeated until the application was completed. A ground witness rprtd that after completing a swath run, one of the acft (N6708K) turned to the right & into the path of the other acft (N10222). Subsequently, the 2 acft converged & collided with one another.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N6708K
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 374B
- Airframe hours
- 4,817
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Donald K. Burkdoll
- Registered owner
- Chuck Jones Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 29, 1990
- Departed
- Blythe, CA
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.
- Registration
- N10222
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22
- Airframe hours
- 10,580
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Mark D. Lorance
- Registered owner
- Chuck Jones Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 21, 1990
- Departed
- Blythe, CA
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N6708K
- Age
- 68
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N10222
- Age
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 6,606 total · 5,500 in this make and model · 6,300 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
- Observed at
- BLH, 7 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 2
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N6708K · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.