- Date
- July 1, 1992, 10:10 local (17:10 UTC)
- Place
- Tulare, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8636HGrumman G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920701023099A
- Case key
- 27670
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
An inflight hopper compartment fire due to the incompatibility of the chemical loads, and, the failure of the operator follow the cautionary directives of the chemical manufacturer.
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
Witnesses saw the acft apch the acdnt site at low alt trailing a hvy volume of spray or smoke. The acft suddenly altered course, and the plt seemed to be turning to lnd on a road. Some witnesses said they saw flames coming fm the eng compartment area; otrs said the eng 'burst into flames' while the acft was airborne. As the acft turned twd the road, it collided with pwr lines & crashed. A post-crash fire consumed the acft. An exam of the eng, which sepd fm the fuselage drg impact, revealed no evidence of a fire. All hoses were noted to be intact. The wooden hopper door had sepd fm the fuselage & it was fnd along the flt path. It was fnd heavily charred on the interior side with no evidence of fire on the exterior side. Records showed the acft had been loaded with potassium permanganate after sulfur had been hauled on a previous flt. Chemical manufacturer rprtd that potassium permanganate was an oxidizer, which was reactive with even small amounts of sulfur.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8636H
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1440
- Airframe hours
- 5,595
- Engine
- P&W R-985-AN1, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- San Joaquin Helicopters, doing business as Mcfarland Cropdusters
- Registered owner
- San Joaquin Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 18, 1992 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- DLO · Delano, CA
- Destination
- DLO
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 7,796 total · 7,249 in this make and model · 7,600 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 180 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.