Grumman G164 N6787K
15 May 2019 · Pleasant Grove, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 15 May 2019 at about 18:51 local time, a Grumman G164 registered N6787K, operated by Moe's Crop Dusting Service Inc., was involved in an accident near Pleasant Grove, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:51
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Pleasant Grove, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Van Dyke Strip (25CL)
- Coordinates
- 38.8853, -121.4239
- Aircraft
- Grumman G164
- Registration
- N6787K
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1978
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Moe's Crop Dusting Service Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Pleasant Grove → Pleasant Grove
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR19FA145
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The failure of both pilots to see and avoid the other airplane, which resulted in a midair collision.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot of the white airplane departed to the south on the agricultural application flight, enroute to a field over which he was going to spread rice seed. At the same time, the pilot of the yellow airplane had just completed his agricultural application flight and was flying north/northwest to return to his departure airport. The two airplanes collided midair and subsequently impacted terrain; both pilots were fatally injured. Examination of the airplanes revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area of the accident site at the time of the accident. Neither air traffic control radar data nor Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) flight track information was available for either airplane. Autopsy of the pilot of the yellow airplane revealed severe coronary atherosclerosis and an enlarged heart, which placed him at increased risk for a sudden cardiac event including a heart attack or arrhythmia that could cause acute symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, or fainting without leaving evidence on autopsy of an acute event. However, given the circumstances of the accident, it is unlikely that the pilot’s medical condition was a factor in the accident. Toxicology testing revealed that the pilot of the yellow airplane had used cannabis. The primary psychoactive compound, THC, was found in his blood at a low concentration (1.7 ng/mL); the short-lived psychoactive metabolite 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC was detected in urine and not blood. The non-psychoactive metabolite, THC-COOH, was found in blood and urine. THC blood concentrations in the first few hours after inhalation are commonly 50 times higher than what was found in the pilot’s blood, suggesting that the cannabis use was not within the last few hours. Since both THC and THC-COOH can be detected in blood weeks after using cannabis, concentrations cannot be used to demonstrate that the pilot was impaired at the time of the accident. While there may be residual effects from using cannabis, peak effects typically occur in the first few hours. Given the low concentration of the psychoactive compounds and the circumstances of the accident, it is unlikely that the effects of the pilot’s use of cannabis contributed to the accident. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilots of both airplanes failed to see and avoid the other airplane, which resulted in a midair collision.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grumman G164 C | N6787K | Moe's Crop Dusting Service Inc. | Substantial |
| Grumman G164 D | N6929K | - | Substantial |
Other Grumman G164 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2019 | Grumman G164 | Lane City, Texas, United States | Currie Flying Service LLC | No injuries | - |
| 21 May 2019 | Grumman G164 | Pearsall, Texas, United States | Fitch, Matt DBA | Serious injuries | - |
| 20 Aug 2019 | Grumman G164 | Hays, Kansas, United States | Werth Aerial Spraying Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 8 Sep 2019 | Grumman G164 | Berlin, Maryland, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 May 2019 | Grumman G164 | Sutter, California, United States | Anderson's Flying Service | No injuries | - |
| 24 Aug 2020 | Grumman G164 | Ogallala, Nebraska, United States | McClung Aerial Spraying Inc | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug 2019 | Wheeler EXPRESS SERIES 2000 | Camarillo, California, United States | N43FD Airplane LLC. | Fatal | 2 |
| 15 Feb 2019 | Cessna 402 | Montague, California, United States | Redding Aero Enterprises Inc | No injuries | - |
| 6 Aug 2019 | Boeing 737 | SFO International Airport, California, United States | United Air Lines Inc | No injuries | - |
| 25 Oct 2019 | Piper PA28R | Shelter Cove, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 14 Mar 2019 | North American T28 | Compton, California, United States | Tomorrows Aeronautical Museum | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 May 2019 | Aviat A1 | Santa Ynez, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |