Grumman G164 N2LU

Summary

On 27 May 2011 at about 19:30 local time, a Grumman G164 registered N2LU, operated by Barham Brothers Inc, was involved in an accident near Oak Ridge, Louisiana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

27 May 2011 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Oak Ridge, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

John H Hooks Jr Memorial (M79)

Coordinates

32.6431, -91.8186

Aircraft

Grumman G164

Registration

N2LU

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Barham Brothers Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rayville → Rayville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11LA396

2 people had minor injuries.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was demonstrating agricultural, low-altitude operations to the pilot. The instructor reported that he noticed a loss of engine power when making a turn; the airplane then descended and impacted the tops of several trees. The airplane fell nose first through the thick wooded canopy, coming to rest in the trees in a mostly nose-down attitude. The pilot reported that the instructor had been flying the airplane slowly while in wingover turns and that the stall light would regularly flicker on and off during the climbing turns. He added that the instructor did not increase the engine power setting before impact and that the airspeed was low immediately before the airplane impacted the trees. The instructor did not report using carburetor heat during his low-altitude operations but did report that he was operating at a reduced power setting. An examination of the airplane showed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although a carburetor icing probability chart indicated that an airplane operating in the ambient conditions at the time of the accident could expect a risk of carburetor icing while at cruise power and a serious risk of carburetor icing while at glide power, it is more likely that the airplane entered into an aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low for the pilot to recover based on the account given by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.