Grumman G-164A N8507H

Summary

On 5 February 1992 at about 00:10 local time, a Grumman G-164A registered N8507H, operated by Brad Christian Films, was involved in an accident near Greenfield, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 February 1992 at 00:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Greenfield, California, United States

Coordinates

36.2595, -121.3702

Aircraft

Grumman G-164A

Registration

N8507H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Brad Christian Films

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX92LA110

Nobody was injured.

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE DURING AN INTENTIONALLY PERFORMED LOW ALTITUDE FLIGHT IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS RELATED TO THE PILOT'S VISUAL PERCEPTION OF THE CANYON AREA BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE AMBIENT LIGHTING CONDITIONS AND SHADOWS.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT, WHO HAD LOGGED 20,000 FLIGHT HOURS, WAS WORKING FOR A FILM CREW TO LOCATE PICTURESQUE AREAS FOR FILMING. DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT THE PILOT, WHO WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA, FLEW AT AN INTENTIONALLY LOW ALTITUDE IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, WHILE CRUISING HE EXPERIENCED CHANGES IN THE AMBIENT LIGHTING CONDITIONS AND HILLSIDE SHADOWS, AND HE FAILED TO NEGOTIATE A CRITICAL TURN. HE INADVERTENTLY TURNED INTO A BOX-LIKE CANYON, FOR WHICH 'THERE WAS NO ESCAPE,' AND COLLIDED WITH UPSLOPING TERRAIN.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.