- Date
- May 22, 2000, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Monticello, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6744KGrumman G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000522012599A
- Case key
- 49263
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 failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during takeoff into crosswind conditions resulting in the collision with trees. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of familiarity with the aircraft.
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
According to the pilot, a gust of wind from his left, rear quarter forced the Ag-Cat off the centerline of the county road where the right wingtip collided with adjacent trees. The pilot was uninjured and the fertilizer did not spill. The pilot's total flight time in turbine powered aircraft was 14.3 hours.
Factual narrative
On May 22, 2000, about 1500 central daylight time, a Schweizer/Grumman G-164B, N6744K, registered to a private individual, operated by Payne's Flying Service as a Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, crashed during takeoff in the vicinity of Monticello, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft received substantial damage and the commercially-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot, he was taking off with a load of fertilizer in Jeff Davis County, Mississippi, when a left, rear quartering gust of wind forced the Ag Cat right of centerline causing the right wingtip to contact trees. Damage was done to the wings, left main landing gear, and the cabane and "N" struts.
According to an FAA inspector, the flight was in its take off roll from a county hard-topped road for a fertilizer application mission when a left rear quartering gust of wind caused the pilot to lose directional control, collide with adjacent trees, and ground loop. There was no damage to public property, or spillage of the hopper's contents. It was the inspector's opinion that the pilot's low experience level in the airplane type contributed to the loss of control.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6744K
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 445B
- Airframe hours
- 15,200
- Engine
- Garrett TPE 331-1-151, 665 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Cecil H. Payne
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 29, 1999 · 931 hours before
- Departed
- Monticello, MS
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 8,405 total · 14 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCB, 28 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.