Schweizer G-164D N83110

Summary

On 16 May 2013 at about 02:00 local time, a Schweizer G-164D registered N83110, operated by JONES Flying Service, Inc, was involved in an accident near Butte City, California, 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

16 May 2013 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Butte City, California, United States

Coordinates

39.4597, -121.9292

Aircraft

Schweizer G-164D

Registration

N83110

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

JONES Flying Service, Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Biggs → Biggs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA233

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after an encounter with wake turbulence while maneuvering at low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue due to extended hours of wakefulness and high workload.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was at a low altitude and in a turn for the next agricultural aerial application run when the airplane encountered its wake turbulence, and the inside wing stalled. He tried to apply rudder to recover, but the airplane inverted and pitched nosedown before it impacted terrain. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot awoke at 0445 on the day of the accident. He had been awake for over 15 hours and had flown 71 application loads during 12 of those hours at the time of the accident. Due to the early wake time and high work load, the pilot was most likely fatigued at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.