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CEN10CA386

2010-07-09 · Chillicothe, Missouri, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CHT

Current FAA registration · N6513K

Make / Model
GRUMMAN ACFT ENG COR-SCHWEIZER G-164B
Year of manufacture
1977 · 33 years old at event
Engine
P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19780310
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A8933C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, the aerial application flight was one of several that day at the same aircraft weight, ambient temperature, and wind speed. Due to some variable winds, the pilot elected to takeoff in a different direction from the previous flights. Approximately 30 feet above ground level and above the tree line, the pilot felt the airplane begin to sink and he was unable to maintain altitude. He stated, "I believe there was a very small wind shear or wind shift just above the tree line and I had not yet achieved enough forward airspeed to overcome the loss in lift." The airplane impacted terrain and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed the engine was separated from the airframe and the empennage was bent. No anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The accident day was the first time the pilot conducted aerial application flight activity. The aerial application flight was one of several that day at the same aircraft weight, ambient temperature, and wind speed. Due to some variable winds, the pilot elected to takeoff in a different direction from the previous flights. Approximately 30 feet above ground level and above the tree line, the pilot felt the airplane begin to sink and he was unable to maintain altitude. He stated, "I believe there was a very small wind shear or wind shift just above the tree line and I had not yet achieved enough forward airspeed to overcome the loss in lift." The airplane impacted terrain and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed the engine was separated from the airframe and the empennage was bent. No anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The accident day was the first time the pilot conducted aerial application flight activity. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_CEN10CA386.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear). All research papers