Schweizer G-164B accident near Colusa, California, May 13, 2007
On May 13, 2007 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Schweizer G-164B, registered N3633Q, was destroyed in an accident near Colusa, California. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from wires.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 13, 2007 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Colusa, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer G-164B
- Registration
- N3633Q · no longer on the register · serial 777B
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The operator briefed the pilot on the morning of the accident about the field that was scheduled for an application of rice seed. The operator's policy was to fly above the wires. Approximately midday, the operator was assigned the field to drop seed, and assigned the pilot to do the drop. An agricultural commercial pilot witness observed the airplane making the application to the field under the wires. On the second pass, the airplane's vertical stabilizer and rudder struck the wires. The rudder then separated from the airplane. The airplane pitched nose up, stalled, spun approximately three times, and impacted terrain. The airplane was destroyed by post-impact fire.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,400 hours in all; 450 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 6,400 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,397 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 6,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: O08 Colusa CA at 11:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from MYV, 20 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N3633Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.