Schweizer G-164B accident near Gridley, California, May 2, 1988
On May 2, 1988 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Schweizer G-164B, registered N3627Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gridley, California. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 2, 1988 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Gridley, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer G-164B
- Registration
- N3627Q · registry record · serial 730B
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN AGRICULTURAL OPERATION, THE ENGINE QUIT AT APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET AGL. THE AIRPLANE WAS LANDED ON A DIRT FIELD AND NOSED OVER. INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE LEFT MAGNETO DRIVE GEAR TEETH WERE MISSING AND THE RIGHT MAGNETO DRIVE GEAR WAS SHEARED OFF.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,000 hours in all; 6,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 17,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,913 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 5, 1988; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 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 N3627Q 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.