Schweizer GRUMMAN G-164B accident near Harrisburg, Arkansas, May 9, 1986
On May 9, 1986, a Schweizer GRUMMAN G-164B, registered N8493K, was destroyed in an accident near Harrisburg, Arkansas. 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 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 9, 1986
- Place
- Harrisburg, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer GRUMMAN G-164B GRUMMAN G-
- Registration
- N8493K · no longer on the register · serial 712B
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT WHILE SPRAYING A FLD WITH PROPANIL AND PENOXALIN THE WIND SHIFTED FROM THE SOUTHEAST TO THE NORTHEAST ALLOWING THE CHEMICALS TO COVER THE WINDSHIELD THUS REDUCING THE PLT'S FORWARD VISION. THIS IN COMBINATION WITH SUN GLARE, RESULTED IN THE PLT NOT MAINTAINING SUFFICIENT ALT TO CLEAR LEVEES IN THE FLD.
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
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 7,500 in this make and model; 55 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,319 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 17, 1985; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: B&B Harrisburg AR at 11:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:52 pm from JBR, 18 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.
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.