Grumman G-164A N8922H

Summary

On 22 March 1997 at about 23:10 local time, a Grumman G-164A registered N8922H was involved in an accident near Swifton, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 March 1997 at 23:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Swifton, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Grumman G-164A

Registration

N8922H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA136

1 person died.

the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision and failure to maintain positive control of the airplane, while performing an aerobatic maneuver.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had reported for work about 0700 & had flown about 9 hrs of application work before the accident. A witness reported that the airplane came from the west & 'buzzed the operations trailer and came up for a hammer head but I could tell he was too low for it when it broke over, that was about 100 to 150 feet high.' Another witness observed the airplane 'buzz the trailer by the runway and pull up into a roll.' This witness further stated that the pilot 'does rolls often, but this time the plane stalled before he got high enough to finish his roll.' The owner of the airplane stated that he had counseled the pilot on 'several occasions' to stop performing aerobatics in his airplane. The pilot was flying with a Statement of Demonstrated Ability for no vision in his left eye. A bottle of hydrocodone pills (a norcotic painkiller) was found on the pilot at the scene. Toxicology tests revealed 0.099 mcg/ml trazodone (a sedating antidepressant) in the pilot's blood and 0.434 mcg/ml trazodone & 0.056 mcg/ml norpropoxyphene (a less active metabolite of propoxyphene, a narcotic painkiller) in the pilot's urine. No hydrocodone or hydrocodone metabolites were reported in the blood or urine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.