Grumman G-164A accident near Clifton, Illinois, August 23, 1994
On August 23, 1994, a Grumman G-164A, registered N8971H, was destroyed in an accident near Clifton, Illinois. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilots failure to keep visual contact with and to avoid unmarked powerlines adjacent to the crop field he was spraying.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 1994
- Place
- Clifton, Illinois
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-164A · all G-164As on the register
- Registration
- N8971H · no longer on the register · serial 1413
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AGRICULTURAL APPLICATION AIRPLANE WAS MAKING AN APPLICATION TURN WHEN IT STRUCK UNMARKED BUT KNOWN WIRES. THE PILOT EGRESSED THE AIRPLANE WITHOUT ASSISTANCE AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY POST-CRASH FIRE. NO MECHANICAL DISCREPANCY WAS NOTED BY THE PILOT, NOR FOUND DURING POST CRASH INSPECTION.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 9,000 as pilot in command; 1,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R1340 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Benoit Strip IL at 11:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.