Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary FTW00LA239

KAPLAN, LA, USA

Aircraft #1

N6506K

Grumman-Schweizer G-164B

Analysis

According to the pilot, during the takeoff climb with full throttle, the agricultural airplane 'felt heavy and the airplane would not climb.' As the pilot turned the airplane to return to the airport, the airplane 'started to settle and he heard a squealing noise from the engine.' The pilot attempted to dump the load; however, the airplane touched down in a field, impacted a ditch, and nosed over coming to rest inverted. The operator determined that the engine supercharger had failed.

Factual Information

On August 21, 2000, at 1400 central daylight time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B agricultural airplane, N6506K, was substantially damaged when it impacted a ditch during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Kaplan, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Vincent Flying Service of Kaplan, Louisiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The airplane was departing the Hanks Airport, Kaplan, Louisiana, for a local flight at the time of the accident. According to the FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, the pilot reported that during the takeoff climb with full throttle, "the airplane felt heavy and the airplane would not climb." As the pilot turned the airplane to return to the airport, the airplane "started to settle and he heard a squealing noise from the engine." The pilot attempted to dump the load; however, the airplane touched down in a field, impacted a ditch, and nosed over coming to rest inverted. The FAA inspector stated that the airplane sustained structural damage to the empennage. According to the FAA inspector, the operator determined that the engine supercharger had failed.

Probable Cause and Findings

the failure of the supercharger during takeoff. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

Get all the details on your iPhone or iPad with:

Aviation Accidents App

In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports