- Date
- April 19, 1990, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Des Arc, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8139KGrumman G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900419010299A
- Case key
- 34965
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
Water contamination of the fuel, due to improper ground servicing of the aircraft, and an improper preflight by the pilot.
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 plt rprtd that the acft had just been serviced with fuel that had been stored in a nurse truck 'all winter long.' Shortly after takeoff, the eng lost power. An emerg lndg was made in a soft/muddy farm fld that resulted in a nose over. A post-acdnt investigation revealed that fuel in the nurse truck & acft was contaminated with water.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8139K
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 582B
- Airframe hours
- 3,157
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Bells Ag Service Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 21, 1990 · 72 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Des Arc, AR
- Airport
- NONE
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
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 700 in this make and model · 14,500 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JBR, 50 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.