Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B N6697Q

Summary

On 13 August 2009 at about 17:20 local time, a Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B registered N6697Q, operated by Valley Crop Dusting Inc, was involved in an accident near Westley, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 August 2009 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Westley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip

Coordinates

37.5408, -121.2894

Aircraft

Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B

Registration

N6697Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Valley Crop Dusting Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Westley → Westley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09CA393

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and preparation, and his decision to operate the airplane well in excess of its maximum gross weight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane did not climb after takeoff and was very sluggish. He held the airplane in ground effect to gain airspeed so that he could clear the chain link fence at the end of the runway. As the pilot attempted to initiate a climb, the airplane started to descend towards a sewage pond. The pilot attempted to jettison the load, but the airplane impacted the sewage pond and nosed over. The operator estimated that the airplane's gross weight at the time of the accident was approximately 6,100 pounds. Weight and Balance Data taken from the G-164B Pilot's Operating Handbook indicates that the maximum gross weight for the G-164B is 5,200 pounds.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.