Grumman G-164A accident near Nelson, California, August 3, 1998
On August 3, 1998 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Grumman G-164A, registered N8388, was destroyed in an accident near Nelson, California (Biggs airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate ground clearance altitude while applying chemicals to a rice field.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 1998 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Nelson, California · Biggs
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-164A · all G-164As on the register
- Registration
- N8388 · registry record · serial 880
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he had to fly over wires to enter the field where he was to apply chemicals. On his first pass over the rice field, he allowed the aircraft to get too low after clearing the wires and was unable to pull out before the main landing gear wheels touched the water and crops. The aircraft then crashed into the rice field. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions prior to the accident.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,062 hours in all; 1,700 in this make and model; 600 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 4,062 as pilot in command; 250 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,309 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 16, 1998; 92 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CL23 Biggs CA at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N8388 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.