Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Joseph, Louisiana 71366
Saturday, March 28, 1998 15:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Following three uneventful aerial application flights, the pilot removed the biplane's cockpit side windows. While completing the first pass of the fourth flight, the pilot 'noticed the plane did not perform as it had previously.' As he turned the airplane to begin the second pass, it settled into the trees bordering the field being sprayed. While in the trees, the pilot advanced the propeller and throttle controls and made an unsuccessful attempt to dump his load of herbicide. Upon reaching the edge of the trees, the pilot 'nosed the aircraft over to land in a small field before hitting the wire across the road.' As he flared to land, the airplane impacted the road embankment. Subsequently, the airplane nosed over, came to a stop in the inverted position, and began to burn. The postcrash fire consumed the fuselage, empennage, and the upper and lower right wings.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the trees. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the ensuing forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/28/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City ST. JOSEPH
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71366
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 3
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 210
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 28 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 10:54AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N617Y
NTSB Number FTW98LA161
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-164
Aircraft Series Identifier G-164
Aircraft Serial Number 232
Certified Max Gross Weight 3500
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 Jul 21 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 344
Airframe Hours 11362
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PHIL DEAR
Aircraft Owner Street Address 33 FOREST DR
Aircraft Owner City MONROE
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71203
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
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
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
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
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 Maneuvering
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 --