Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B N8260K

Summary

On 13 July 2010 at about 16:00 local time, a Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B registered N8260K, operated by Hoppe Airspay LLC, was involved in an accident near Independence, Iowa, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 2010 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Independence, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

42.4536, -91.9478

Aircraft

Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B

Registration

N8260K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hoppe Airspay LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Independence → Independence

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA402

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to pay attention to the power lines and his subsequent failure to maintain clearance from the corn field during the aerial application flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was making an aerial application pass at the south end of a field when the accident occurred. A 30-foot-tall power line ran north and south through the middle of the field. The pilot stated he was paying attention to the trees along the south end of the field during the pass when he realized that he was approaching the wires. He was unable to climb over the wires so he decided to fly under them. In doing so, the airplane contacted 7-foot-high corn and the airplane was pulled down into the field. Substantial damage resulted to the lower wings and the main landing gear mounting truss.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.