Schweizer Aircraft CORP G-164B accident near Biggs, California, May 9, 2013
On May 9, 2013 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Schweizer Aircraft CORP G-164B, registered N8214S, suffered minor damage in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Biggs, California (Williams Ag Service airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 pilot’s failure to adequately monitor the runway environment during taxi, which resulted in an on-ground collision.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 9, 2013 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Biggs, California · Williams Ag Service · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer Aircraft CORP G-164B · all G-164Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8214S · registry record · serial 787B
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, while in the traffic pattern for landing, he was told by ground operations personnel that maintenance was being performed on the runway. The pilot scanned the area and saw trucks parked on the south end of the airstrip property but nothing on the runway. The pilot continued the landing, and taxied the airplane down the runway after landing. Although the pilot was performing s-turns for visibility purposes, he did not see service equipment on the runway, and the airplane collided with it and the operator of that equipment. The operator, who was fatally injured, was pushing a blower down the center of the runway and was wearing hearing protection at the time of the collision. It is likely that, due to the hearing protection and the sound of the blower, the operator did not hear the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed minor damage to both the inlet scoop and the lower right wing lower surface.
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
What happened, in order
- Runway incursion veh/AC/person during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Ground vehicle › Contributed to outcome
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 6,450 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 30, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,136 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 9, 2013; 0 hours since
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6/R1340 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MYV Marysville CA at 11:00 pm
- Destination: Priv Biggs CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,600 ft by 35 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from KOVE, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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 N8214S 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.