- Date
- September 30, 1995, 18:38 local (Oct 1, 1995, 01:38 UTC)
- Place
- Avondale, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6779KGrumman G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950930030739A
- Case key
- 29224
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 plan to avoid wake turbulence.
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 pilot was conducting an aerial application flight in a close area. During the procedure turn the pilot encountered the airplane's wake turbulence. During the recovery, the airplane stalled and collided with the terrain.
Factual narrative
On September 30, 1995 at 1838 hours mountain standard time, a Grumman G-164B, N6779K, crashed while executing an aerial application maneuver at Avondale, Arizona. The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules aerial application flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137. The airplane, operated by Moseley Aviation, Inc., Avondale, Arizona, sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated from the operator's airstrip at Avondale at 1815 hours.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators interviewed the operator via the telephone on September 30, 1995. The operator said that the airplane stalled when the pilot was executing a procedure turn maneuver.
The pilot submitted the required Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2. He said in the report that he elected to execute shorter radius turns while spraying a half section of a field. He normally sprays the field using a wide circling pattern.
During the turn, the pilot encountered the airplane's wake turbulence. He pushed the control yoke forward to recover from the turbulence, but the airplane's altitude was insufficient to effect a normal recovery and the airplane struck the ground.
The pilot also indicated in the report that the airplane did not experience any preexisting malfunctions or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6779K
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 470B
- Airframe hours
- 2,532
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 650 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Moseley Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 27, 1995 · 285 hours before
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,359 total · 1,560 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.