Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mandan, North Dakota 58554
Friday, July 13, 2001 20:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing when it hit a powerline during aerial application. The pilot reported the weather was hot and humid and clouds were starting to build into thunderheads. He reported, "The air had moderate turbulence along the ground and visibility was good." He had been flying a racetrack pattern during the aerial application flight, passing under a set of powerlines many times. He reported, "As I approached the line, the top wing blocked out the line as I approached. I used the base of the tower as a reference point. The end of the field was about 400 feet to the front of the airplane. As I passed I felt the sensation of a rapid rise. I pushed the stick forward[.] There was no change. I pushed the stick hard to the stop I was still going up. Then I hit, I stood hard left rudder and still had the stick forward. After bouncing around the plane was nose down. I straightened out to level flight and flew a straight line to look at the structure of the plane. There was no vibration and nothing was missing." The pilot reported the landing was uneventful. The pilot reported the airplane did not have a mechanical malfunction prior to the impact with the powerline.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot failed to maintain clearance from the powerline. Additional factors were the thermal lift and the powerline.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/13/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2000
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Mandan
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58554
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
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 1752 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID BIS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1678
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.85
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12242
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 16 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1321
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 10 2002 8:12AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Fargo FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N14AG
NTSB Number CHI01LA217
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-164A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1704
Certified Max Gross Weight 4500
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 Jun 21 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 57
Airframe Hours 4129
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jamestown Aviation
Aircraft Owner Street Address 916 2nd Ave. N.W.
Aircraft Owner City Jamestown
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58401
Operator is an individual? No
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 --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code Y19
Departure City MANDAN
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
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 Maneuvering - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2002 4:08PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --