Grumman-Schweizer G-164B N48571

Summary

On 13 June 2008 at about 00:40 local time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B registered N48571 was involved in an accident near Wilder, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 June 2008 at 00:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Wilder, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.6917, -116.9403

Aircraft

Grumman-Schweizer G-164B

Registration

N48571

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wilder → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08LA177

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power as a result of failure of the supercharger. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he was applying fertilizer to a field of hops. After several passes over the field, a total engine failure occurred. The pilot was forced to land the airplane in a small onion field. The pilot said that after touchdown, he "forced the aircraft into the ground to avoid collision with a raised canal." The airplane made "one complete forward flip," which destroyed the tail section, and came to rest nose down. Following its recovery to the operator's facility, the airplane was examined by the pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. They noted metal chips and oil in the engine exhaust pipes and found all the spark plugs to be contaminated with oil. According to the pilot, these signatures were indicative of a supercharger failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.