# NTSB WPR15LA160: Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G 164A, N8875H, Maxwell, CA, May 13, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 13, 2015, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Maxwell, CA - Coordinates: 39.226112, -122.220558 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.2261&lon=-122.2206&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 25, 2018 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 91172 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR15LA160 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/91172/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91172 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR15LA160 ## Probable cause The pilot’s improper preflight inspection and fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=3952801), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=3952801), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Planning/preparation: fuel planning](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061030): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061030/cases.md?model=3952801), [All aircraft, 719 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192) (defining event); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md?model=3952801), [All aircraft, 804 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=3952801), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A, 20 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=3952801), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis Just after takeoff on the agricultural application flight, the commercial pilot was positioning the airplane to spray a rice field. About 200 ft above ground level, the pilot heard a loud pop, and the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot turned the airplane to land on a dirt road, but it was too narrow; the right main landing gear contacted mud on the side of the road, and the airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted. Recovery personnel reported no residual fuel on the ground around the accident site, and about one half gallon of fuel was recovered from the airplane. The pilot stated that the airplane had not been refueled on the day of the accident and that he departed on the flight with less than a half tank of fuel. The postaccident engine examination revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The loss of engine power was likely due to fuel exhaustion, and given that the loss of power occurred just after takeoff, it is likely that the pilot did not verify the amount of fuel onboard before departing on the flight. ## Factual narrative On May 13, 2015, about 0930 Pacific daylight time, a restricted category Grumman Aircraft ENG COR-Schweizer G164A airplane, N8875H, experienced a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff, and the pilot subsequently made an emergency landing on a dirt road near Maxwell, California. Richter Aviation Inc., operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight that departed from a private airstrip. No flight plan had been filed. In the pilot's written statement, he reported that the airplane seemed to function normally; good magneto check before takeoff and no indications of any problems. About 200 feet above the ground he heard a loud pop, and then the engine quit. He made a right 90o turn to land on a dirt road. The road was too narrow, and the right wheel went over the edge into the rice field and got stuck in mud, which caused the airplane to slow down and flip over onto its back. During an interview with an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot reported that when he took off, on the day of the accident, there was less than half a tank of fuel on board. The operator reported that the day before, the left magneto had been replaced, and that the airplane had not been refueled following the maintenance. The operator also stated that the pilot started flying at 0900 the day of the accident for the purpose of spraying a pesticide on the rice fields. According to a responding deputy from the Colusa County Sheriff's Department, there was no evidence of fuel, or the smell of fuel, at the accident site. An FAA inspector reported that during the recovery of the airplane, maintenance personnel recovered ½ gallon of fuel out of the airplane. Maintenance personnel stated that there was no fuel smell, or residual fuel found on the ground. The airplane holds 80 gallons of fuel and burns about 40 gallons of fuel per hour. The loader reported that on the day of the accident the airplane was not refueled. During the postaccident engine examination, the FAA inspector stated that the engine turned freely without any binding, and about a 1/3-cup of fuel was recovered from the gascolator. Compression was obtained in all the cylinders except the #1 cylinder which had sustained impact damage. The left magneto produced a spark when rotated however, the right magneto had sustained impact damage and could not be functionally tested. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8875H](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8875H), registered now, S/N 1556, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GRUMMAN ACFT ENG COR-SCHWEIZER G 164A - Registry model: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A](https://openairdocs.org/model/grumman-acft-eng-cor-schweizer-g-164a) (registry code 3952801) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney R1340 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (registry code 52016, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1556 - Year built: 1975 - Airframe hours: 10031.6 - Engines: Pratt and Whitney R1340-AN1 600 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Richter Aviation Inc - Registered owner: Richter Aviation Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, April 29, 2015, 37 hours before - Departed: PVT, Maxwell, CA - Destination: PVT, Maxwell, CA - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: center; flight hours: 15,744 total, 13,820 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 130° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 29.92 inHg - Observed at: OVE, 40 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20150513006699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150513006699A), May 13, 2015: Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164A, Maxwell, CA, Substantial damage. On 5/13/2015, aircraft N8875H a G-164A Grumman-schweizer (agcat) was conducting agricultural insecticide spraying operations in a field near Maxwell, CA.… ## Other investigations on N8875H (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX99LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA180), May 7, 1999: Grumman G-164A (N8875H), Maxwell, CA, destroyed. Probable cause: Failure of the pilot to attain and maintain the proper reference climb airspeed during the rotation and initial climb, which resulted in a stall/mush condition. ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 30, 2017, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91172. 5.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (Operator) (item 1, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40457400&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1%20(Operator)-Master.PDF - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (Pilot) (item 2, .PDF, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40457401&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1%20(Pilot)-Master.PDF - Report from FAA Including Witness Interviews (item 3, .PDF, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40457402&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Report%20from%20FAA%20Including%20Witness%20Interviews-Master.PDF - Colusa County Sheriff's Department Report (item 4, .PDF, 446 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40457403&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Colusa%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Department%20Report-Master.PDF - Aircraft Records (item 5, .PDF, 409 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40457404&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Aircraft%20Records-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.