Grumman G-164A N8923H

Summary

On 2 July 2022 at about 13:44 local time, a Grumman G-164A registered N8923H, operated by Salem Spray Service Inc, was involved in an accident near Hopewell Township, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 July 2022 at 13:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Hopewell Township, New Jersey, United States

Coordinates

39.4464, -75.2793

Aircraft

Grumman G-164A

Registration

N8923H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Salem Spray Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fairton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA297

1 person was seriously injured.

A partial loss of engine power while maneuvering at low altitude due to a failure of the airplane’s supercharger.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing an aerial application flight over a nursery. As he pulled up at the end of a pass, he crossed over an area of trees and heard a “loud bang.” He attempted to maneuver the airplane to land in an open field; however, the airplane “ran out of altitude and airspeed” and impacted the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s vintage radial engine revealed that when rotating the propeller, the drivetrain would rotate freely, and no binding was noted. All the engine cylinders were intact. The supercharger impeller was intact, but further examination revealed that it was not rotating when the propeller was moved by hand. The rear accessory/diffuser housing was removed to expose the supercharger impeller and no damage was noted on the external impeller blades; however, the rear splined impeller shaft ball bearing spacer and supercharger impeller splines were found to have sheared, allowing the impeller to freewheel. Based on this information, it is likely that the failure of the supercharger resulted in at least a partial loss of engine power, and that the failure occurred while the pilot was performing a low altitude maneuver. The pilot was subsequently unable to recover from the resulting loss of airspeed before the airplane impacted the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.