- Date
- June 14, 2011, 19:00 local (Jun 15, 2011, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pullman, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8376KGrumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report August 22, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
- FAA report
- 20110614009909A
- Case key
- 80790
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 clearance from power lines while maneuvering.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that the purpose of the agricultural flight was to spray a swath of field bordered by power lines. After making a pass, the pilot's attention was focused on a pole and he struck nearby power lines, which wrapped around the propeller. The pilot noticed a sudden loss in power and thought he could make it back to the airport. The engine then lost total power and the pilot initiated a forced landing in a field, resulting in a hard landing. The engine detached from the airplane and both wings and the fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was spraying a swath of field bordered by power lines. After making a pass, the pilot's attention was focused on a pole and he struck nearby power lines, which wrapped around the propeller. The pilot noticed a sudden loss in power and thought he could make it back to the airport. The power loss increased and the pilot initiated a forced landing into a field, resulting in a hard landing. The engine detached from the airplane and both wings and fuselage sustained substantial structural damage. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8376K
- Reported as
- Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 675B
- Airframe hours
- 7,617
- Engine
- P&W R1340 SERIES, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 4, 2011 · 77 hours before
- Departed
- Staley Airstrip, WA
- Destination
- Staley Airstrip, WA
- Airport
- Staley Airport
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
- 23
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 10, 2011
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 421 total · 171 in this make and model · 267 as pilot in command · 159 in the last 90 days · 51 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- PUW, 20 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 27, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 592 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N8376K · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.