Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's misjudgment of the clearance from the trees during the swath run that resulted in the collision.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The rated pilot was enrolled in a training program for aerial application pilots. During this practice phase of the flight training, the pilot was making a routine swath run, dispensing water, when the collision occurred. According to the operator, the airplane collided with a stand of trees during a swath run pullout, and stalled. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Source record
Factual narrative
On July 19, 1996, at 1630 eastern daylight time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164, N697Y, collided with trees while practicing aerial application maneuvers three miles east of Bainbridge, Georgia. The aerial application training flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 137, with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was destroyed, and the pilot received minor injuries. The flight departed Decatur County Industrial Airpark in Bainbrige, Georgia, at 1545. The rated pilot was enrolled in a training program for aerial application pilots. During thE practice phase of the flight training, the pilot was making a routine swath run, dispensing water, when the collision occurred. According to the operator, the airplane collided with a stand of trees during a swath run pullout and stalled. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot. -