Pilot Debrief

GRUMMAN G164 near Rice, MN — 2020-08-16

Final reportCEN20CA341
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Date
2020-08-16
Location
Rice, MN, USA
Airport
PVT
Aircraft
GRUMMAN G164
Registration
N997QC
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot did not maintain control of the airplane during the landing.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was en route to spray a field when he received a call over the company radio to return to the airport. He returned for landing with the full application load. The airstrip consisted of gravel and asphalt; grass areas bordered the runway. The main wheels touched down near the runway threshold; the initial portion of the runway was gravel. The tail wheel settled onto the runway as the airspeed dissipated, and the pilot brought the propeller into reverse. However, the tailwheel encountered a “bump” which started some pitch oscillations; this might have occurred at the transition from gravel to asphalt. The pilot reported no elevator or rudder authority, possibly due to the reduced airflow over the empennage resulting from the reverse thrust. He noted that a go-around was not an option at that point. The airplane yawed to the right and departed the paved area, proceeded into the grass area, and finally into the soft ground adjacent to the runway causing the airplane to nose over. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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