Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oberlin, Louisiana 70655
Saturday, April 25, 1998 11:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

At the end of a pass to apply rice seed to a field, during the turn to reverse direction, the pilot lost control of the agricultural airplane. The airplane became inverted at an altitude of approximately 100 feet, and the pilot was unable to recover prior to ground impact. Winds reported by the pilot were from the southeast at 20 to 35 knots, and he commented that the accident could have been prevented by not flying with wind gusts greater than 35 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor was the gusty wind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/25/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City OBERLIN
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70655
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 4
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 Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 135
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 20
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 35
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) 319
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 26 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N63E
NTSB Number FTW98LA194
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-Schweizer
Aircraft Model G-164B
Aircraft Series Identifier G-164B
Aircraft Serial Number 305B
Certified Max Gross Weight 6200
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 30 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RED RIVER AG SERVICE
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 12962
Aircraft Owner City ALEXANDRIA
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71315
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name KINDER AG SERVICE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 11673 HIWAY 165
Operator City KINDER
Operator State LA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 70648
Operator Code K2BG
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
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 --
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 --