Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Loss of Visual Reference: Grumman G-164B, N3629E; fatal accident occurred March 27, 2018 in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California



Tyler Graham Haymore
Marysville, California
1988 - 2018

Tyler passed away on March 27, 2018 while doing what he loved as an agricultural pilot, in Tracy, California. He lived life to the fullest and was blessed to be living his dream. Tyler was blessed with a beautiful and loving wife, a career he was passionate about, and was part of a loving pack (he and his siblings) that never wanted to be separated from each other, as well as a family who loved him immensely, and a multitude of extended family and friends who were so blessed by Tyler's love for them.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Oakland, California
Honeywell Aerospace; Phoenix, Arizona 
 
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

http://registry.faa.gov/N3629E 

Location: Stockton, CA
Accident Number: WPR18LA113
Date & Time: 03/27/2018, 1405 PDT
Registration: N3629E
Aircraft: SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT CORP G 164B
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of visual reference
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 137: Agricultural

On March 27, 2018, about 1405 Pacific daylight time, a Schweizer Aircraft Corporation G-164B restricted category agricultural airplane, N3629E, was substantially damaged after colliding with high transmission power lines and a subsequent impact with terrain about 10 nautical miles southwest of Stockton, California. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by Haley Flying Service of Tracy, California, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 agricultural application flight, and a flight plan was not filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which had departed the operator's private airstrip about 30 minutes before the time of the accident.

In a statement submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a company ground crewman who witnessed the accident reported that the field being sprayed had transmission towers angling across it to support transmission power lines. After the pilot finished spraying the field in a north to south orientation, the witness advised the pilot to spray the area on the west side of the transmission towers to ensure proper coverage. As the witness watched the spray being dispensed, he saw "a flash," looked up, and observed the airplane impact the ground. The witness indicated, in a statement to local law enforcement personnel, that, while the pilot was flying southbound below and under two sets of high transmission power lines, the airplane clipped the second set of lines, which caused it to impact the ground nose first. There was no postimpact fire.

Pilot Information

Certificate: Commercial
Age: 29, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Single
Other Aircraft Rating(s):None 
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed:Yes 
Medical Certification: Class 2 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 10/04/2017
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 04/16/2016
Flight Time:  703 hours (Total, all aircraft), 156 hours (Total, this make and model), 604 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 95 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 41 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 6 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued on October 4, 2017, at which time he reported accumulating about 703 hours total flight experience and about 156 hours in the accident airplane make and model. The pilot completed his most recent flight review on April 16, 2016.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT CORP
Registration: N3629E
Model/Series: G 164B B
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1984
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Restricted
Serial Number: 744B
Landing Gear Type: Tailwheel
Seats: 1
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 03/13/2018, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 6162 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection: 17 Hours
Engines: 1 Turbo Prop
Airframe Total Time: 16689.7 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Garrett
ELT: Not installed
Engine Model/Series: TPE-331
Registered Owner: HALEY FLYING SERVICE INC
Rated Power: 715 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

The airplane's most recent annual inspection was performed on March 13, 2013, at a total time of 16,689.7 hours, with 17.2 hours since that last inspection. The airplane was equipped with a Honeywell TPE-331-201A turboprop engine, rated at 715 horsepower, with a total time of 15,520 hours. The operator indicated that there were no mechanical issues with either the airplane or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: SCK, 33 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 10 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1355 PDT
Direction from Accident Site: 50°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 7 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: None / None
Wind Direction: 320°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: N/A / N/A
Altimeter Setting: 30.2 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 21°C / 4°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Tracy, CA (NA)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Tracy, CA (NA)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1330 PDT
Type of Airspace: Class G

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 37.847778, -121.516111 (est) 

Medical And Pathological Information

An autopsy was performed by the Office of the Sheriff-Coroner, County of San Joaquin, French Camp, California. The autopsy determined that the pilot's cause of death was blunt force trauma.

Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified doxylamine (an antihistamine) and dextrorphan (a cough suppressant) in the pilot's blood and urine specimens. No carbon monoxide was detected in the pilot's blood specimens, and no ethanol was detected in the pilot's vitreous specimens. Testing for cyanide was not performed.


Location: Stockton, CA
Accident Number: WPR18LA113
Date & Time: 03/27/2018, 1405 PDT
Registration: N3629E
Aircraft: SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT CORP G 164B
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 137: Agricultural 

On March 27, 2018, about 1405 Pacific daylight time, a Schweizer Aircraft Corporation G-164 B restricted category agricultural airplane, N3629E, was substantially damaged after colliding with high transmission powerlines and subsequent impact with terrain about 10 nautical miles southwest of Stockton, California. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. That aerial application flight was being operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137, and a flight plan was not filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which departed the operator's private airstrip about 30 minutes prior to the time of the accident.

A company ground crewman who witnessed the accident reported that the pilot had finished spraying the 95-acre alfalfa field and was in the process of trimming up around two sets of transmission towers that ran parallel and diagonally through the field in a southwest to northeast direction. The accident occurred when the airplane, flying from north to south, collided with the second set of wires that the pilot was attempting to fly under while making a trim/cleanup pass. The crewman stated that following impact with the wires the airplane impacted terrain in a steep nose down attitude. There was no postcrash fire. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Manufacturer: SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT CORP
Registration: N3629E
Model/Series: G 164B B
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: SCK, 33 ft msl
Observation Time: 1355 PDT
Distance from Accident Site: 10 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 21°C / 4°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 7 knots, 320°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility:  10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.2 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Tracy, CA
Destination: Tracy, CA

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude:  37.847778, -121.516111 (est)




A crop duster pilot was killed when the biplane he was flying struck a line on a power transmission tower and crashed in a field north of Clifton Court Road shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The San Joaquin County Coroner’s Office identified the pilot Wednesday morning as Tyler Graham Haymore, 29, of Tracy. 

Ian Gregor, a communications manager for the Federal Aviation Administration Pacific Division, said in a statement that the Schweizer G-164B Ag-Cat crop duster crashed under unknown circumstances near the 16500 block of Clifton Court Road.

The FAA aircraft registry shows the plane registered to Haley Flying Service Inc., 15971 S. Tracy Blvd.

The airplane crashed upside down south of the power transmission towers, with the engine and other parts spread over an area roughly 70 feet from the main body of the plane.

A power line could be seen dangling from a transmission tower, and other lines were sagging into the field where the airplane crashed. The transmission lines that fell damaged other power lines on Bonetti Road to the west. A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crew was working to repair the damaged power lines.

Chris O’Neil, chief of media relations for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday morning that the preliminary investigation described a chain of events beginning when the plane struck the power line.

“The pilot was flying by visual flight rules, and in the operation of crop dusting, it struck a suspended wire, resulting in loss of control and the crash,” O’Neil said. “Why the aircraft struck the wire is yet to be seen.”

He said an employee of Haley Flying Service witnessed the crash and gave an account, so the NTSB would not need to send an investigator to the scene.

Fire engines from Tracy, Mountain House and French Camp were called to the scene at 2:11 p.m. along with sheriff’s deputies.

Battalion Chief Scott Arganbright of Tracy Fire Department said the pilot was killed in the crash. A fire department hazmat team was called to decontaminate Haymore’s body and the plane because of the insecticide that spilled in the wreck.

Arganbright said the insecticide that the crop duster was spraying in the area was confined to the crash scene and did not pose a threat to people living nearby.

O’Neil said the final report on the crash could take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to complete, depending on access to records. He added that the NTSB instigates nearly 1,300 general aviation accidents each year, some of which include fatalities.

Original article ➤  http://www.goldenstatenewspapers.com














STOCKTON -- A crop duster crashed into the middle of a field just outside of Tracy Tuesday, taking out power lines before it hit the ground.

The Federal Aviation Administration reports around 2 p.m. the plane crashed near Clifton Court Road.

The pilot was killed, officials said. His identity has not been released.

Transmission and power lines were hit in the crash, according to Pacific Gas and Electric. Power to 25 customers north of Tracy went out around 2:10 p.m. Crews are working to fix the damage and PG&E estimates power could be restored by around 6:15 p.m.

The plane was identified by the FAA as a Schweizer G-164B crop duster. It was registered to Haley's Flying Service out of Tracy.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash.

Original article can be found here ➤ http://fox40.com

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