Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Alexandria, Louisiana 71309
Wednesday, November 18, 1998 16:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The left wing impacted the river during the turn around maneuver while spraying rye grass seeds onto a field adjacent to the river. As the evening nighttime approached, the area over the river was hazy. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented by 'taking a longer and wider turn coming back into the field.' The accident occurred 40 minutes prior to the U.S. Naval Observatory official time of sunset.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the water during the turnaround maneuver. A factor was the haze over the river.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/18/1998
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City ALEXANDRIA
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71309
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 11
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 1650 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID AEX
Elevation of weather observation facility 89
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3100
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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) 785
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 19 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1915
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:53AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4938X
NTSB Number FTW99LA030
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Rockwell
Aircraft Model S-2R
Aircraft Series Identifier S-2R
Aircraft Serial Number 2147R
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 May 2 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 176
Airframe Hours 7332
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DONALD M. CHANDLER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7171 BAYOU RAPIDES ROAD
Aircraft Owner City ALEXANDRIA
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71303
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 SGZG
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 99R
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1615
Departure Time Zone CST
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 --