Grumman-Schweizer G-164A N9793

Summary

On 6 June 1996 at about 02:00 local time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164A registered N9793, operated by Shupe Flying Service Inc., was involved in an accident near Prescott, Washington, 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

6 June 1996 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Prescott, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.3510, -118.4691

Aircraft

Grumman-Schweizer G-164A

Registration

N9793

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Shupe Flying Service Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Prescott → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA96LA112

1 person had minor injuries.

failure of the pilot to visually clear his flight path, after allowing his attention to be diverted, and his resultant failure to maintain sufficient altitude/clearance from a hill. The hilly terrain was a related factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot told an FAA inspector that while approaching a hill, which he thought he had sufficient altitude to clear, his attention was momentarily diverted to looking down for an object in the cockpit. While he was looking in the cockpit, the aircraft struck the hill about 150 feet from the hilltop.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.