Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Prairie View, Kansas 67664
Friday, May 9, 1997 17:52 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had taken off to the north on an aerial application flight with 100 gallons of chemical. The airplane was about 30 feet above the ground when a loss of engine power occurred. The pilot reported 'The engine may have backfired three to four times.' The airplane began to lose altitude. The pilot said he set the mixture to rich, dropped part of the load (chemical) and used the throttle which seemed to help. He decided to land the airplane on a road just north of the airport. As he lined up with the road, he saw a car coming. He then decided to land in an adjacent plowed field. The airplane touched down on three points, 'hit a terrace' which 'tore the engine off,' nosed over, tore the stabilizers off, uprighted, and came to a stop. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomaly.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

an undetermined event, which resulted in loss of engine power. Factors relating to the accident were: an automobile, which prevented the pilot from landing on a road; and a dirt bank (terrace) in the emergency landing area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/9/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1752
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City PRAIRIE VIEW
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67664
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID HLC
Elevation of weather observation facility 2860
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 3656
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 426
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 9 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7859
NTSB Number CHI97LA126
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-164A
Aircraft Series Identifier G-164A
Aircraft Serial Number 806
Certified Max Gross Weight 3725
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 4000
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARK D. BANTAM
Aircraft Owner Street Address 912 W. 10TH STREET
Aircraft Owner City GOODLAND
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 67735
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JERRY D. BANTAM
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 502 N. 2ND STREET
Operator City NORTON
Operator State KS
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 67654
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KS05
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1750
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --