Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G 164B N6672Q

Summary

On 15 June 2018 at about 16:10 local time, a Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G 164B registered N6672Q, operated by Valley AG Aerial Services, was involved in an accident near Arrey, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 June 2018 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Arrey, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

32.8281, -107.2994

Aircraft

Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G 164B

Registration

N6672Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Valley AG Aerial Services

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hatch → Hatch

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA226

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a hillside during an agricultural application flight while facing the sun.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that he completed four agricultural application loads "just fine." However, after the fourth application, he turned the airplane to conduct a clean-up pass of the field, and subsequently, the airplane impacted the east side of a hill. The pilot stated that he did not remember what happened nor why it happened. Another pilot who had previously sprayed the accident field reported that, when flying east/west in the morning, the east-facing swath was into the sun and toward rapidly rising terrain. At the time of the accident, clear skies and light winds were present, and the sun was in the east. Given this information and that the operator reported that there was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, the pilot likely failed to maintain clearance from rising terrain while facing the sun during the low-level flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.