Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B N6750K

Summary

On 4 June 2023 at about 16:05 local time, a Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B registered N6750K, operated by Valley Air, was involved in an accident near Colusa, California, 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

4 June 2023 at 16:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Colusa, California, United States

Coordinates

39.2416, -121.9095

Aircraft

Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B

Registration

N6750K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Valley Air

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Colusa → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA212

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a power line during a low-level aerial application flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported this was the eighth aerial application flight of the day spraying rice fields. He had made all takeoff’s flying low under a power line about 3/4 mile from the departure end of the runway. He stated that due to the monotony of the flights combined with fatigue and a bi-plane wing configuration, he lost sight of the power line and struck it. The airplane impacted the ground and cartwheeled sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, vertical and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.