- Date
- August 23, 2000, 11:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Berlin, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8919HSchweizer G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000823008509A
- Case key
- 50072
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 maintain adequate airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall and collision with terrain.
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 stated that he was engaged in aerial application and was making normal spray runs. He further stated that while turning the aircraft he stalled the wings, and the aircraft became inverted, and he never regained control. He said the aircraft crashed in the cotton field that he had been spraying. He further stated that prior to the accident, he did not experience any mechanical malfunction or failure with the aircraft, or any of its systems.
Factual narrative
On August 23, 2000, about 1145 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer G-164A, N8919H, registered to and operated by a private owner, as a Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, crashed while maneuvering during aerial application in Berlin, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane incurred substantial damage, and the commercial-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated in Norman Park, Georgia, the same day, about 1045.
The pilot stated that he was making normal spray runs, and while turning he stalled the wings, and the aircraft became inverted. He said he never regained control and the aircraft crashed in the cotton field he was spraying. The pilot further stated that he did not experience any mechanical malfunction or failure to the aircraft, or its systems prior to the accident. According to the pilot, the wings were bent, and the empennage torn off, as a result of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8919H
- Reported as
- Schweizer G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1563
- Engine
- P&W PT6-20, 550 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Van F. Suber
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Limited (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2000
- Departed
- Norman Park, GA
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 9,600 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 9,300 as pilot in command · 273 in the last 90 days · 96 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VAD, 35 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.