Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Stanwood, Washington 98292
Thursday, February 19, 1998 9:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that while engaged in aerial spraying, approximately 30 minutes after takeoff and 15 minutes after beginning to spray, he noted a reduction in engine power. He advanced the throttle, at which point the engine 'sputtered' and 'popped' a few times and then quit. The pilot performed a forced landing into a field. The airplane encountered soft terrain during the forced landing roll and flipped over. The pilot stated he did not use carburetor heat at the time. Post-accident examination of the engine did not reveal any abnormalities, and the operator successfully test-ran the engine following the accident. Temperatures of 7 to 9 degrees C and dewpoint of 6 degrees C were reported at two nearby weather reporting stations during the accident time frame. This temperature/dewpoint combination represents a hazard of 'serious [carburetor] icing at cruise power', according to FAA data.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to apply carburetor heat. Factors included carburetor icing conditions and soft terrain in the forced landing area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/19/1998
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City STANWOOD
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98292
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 2
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 857 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 115
Weather Observation Facility ID AWO
Elevation of weather observation facility 137
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 597
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 19 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 938
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:57AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N48493
NTSB Number SEA98LA038
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-Schweizer
Aircraft Model G-164B
Aircraft Series Identifier G-164B
Aircraft Serial Number 49B
Certified Max Gross Weight 6075
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 Dec 1 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 8
Airframe Hours 3388
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CURTIS TRONSDAL
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1668 MILLTOWN RD.
Aircraft Owner City MT. VERNON
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98273
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code YTYG
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 No
Departure Airport Code 75S
Departure City BURLINGTON
Departure State WA
Departure Country
Departure Time 830
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code
Destination City UNKNOWN
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
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 --