N3629Y

On May 28, 2024, about 1346 Pacific daylight time, a turbine-powered Schweizer Aircraft Corp G-164B airplane, N3629Y, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Richvale, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight.

According to the operator, the airplane departed with 80 gallons of Jet-A turbine fuel onboard and 345 gallons of agricultural material in the airplane’s hopper. The pilot was departing runway 34 at the Richvale Airport (07CL), scheduled to spray multiple agricultural fields. Runway 34 was 50 ft wide and 2220 ft long.

A witness, located at the north end of the airfield, reported seeing the airplane become airborne about midfield before it began a shallow left turn to the northwest. The airplane’s lower right wing subsequently struck a hopper trailer that was parked off the left side of the runway, near the departure end, about 110 ft before the threshold (see figure 1). After the collision, the airplane descended and impacted terrain near a drainage culvert beyond the north end of the runway.

Figure 1. Trailer and accident airplane (Courtesy of California Highway Patrol)

The airplane came to rest on its left side in a field about 150 ft northwest of the departure end of runway 34 and was oriented on a heading of 299° magnetic. All the major structures of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. The airplane’s first point of impact was the top of the hopper trailer. Several ground scars that formed about a 25-ft-long arc were located between the hopper trailer and the main wreckage, which was located about 200 ft northwest of the trailer. An odor consistent with JET A fuel was noted beneath the fuselage at the accident site.

The upper wing had completely separated from the fuselage and both lower wings had partially separated at their wing roots. The top wing was broken about midspan and was collocated with the main wreckage. Three of the four ailerons remained attached to their respective wings; the top right-wing aileron was partially separated. The top-left wingtip was partially fractured, and compression wrinkles were observed throughout the top and bottom skin of the wing. A gouge was located at the left-wing leading edge about midspan. The top-right wingtip was separated and the wing was bent near the center-top wing.

The braces from the bottom and top left wing remained attached but were deformed. The bottom left wingtip was separated and the outboard leading edge exhibited deformation. A gouge was located in the outboard aileron trailing edge of the bottom left wing and the aileron exhibited an upward deflection. The bottom left aileron displayed compression wrinkles and bending. The outboard bottom right wing exhibited torsional deformation, a large chordwise gouge about midspan, and a chordwise depression. The braces between the top and bottom right wings were separated.

The right bottom wing exhibited a large gouge and depression about 6.5 ft from the wingtip. The gouge was about 2 ft wide at the leading edge and tapered chordwise about 3.5 ft towards the trailing edge, through the wing spar, to the about midspan point of the bottom right aileron.

The empennage was separated from the fuselage. The left elevator remained attached to the horizontal stabilizer, which was located partially beneath the fuselage. The right horizontal stabilizer and elevator had separated from the empennage and were crushed. Deformation and compression wrinkles were observed throughout the vertical stabilizer and rudder, which were both collocated with the main wreckage. The rudder remained attached to the vertical stabilizer, which was folded back at the lower leading edge.

The hopper tank remained attached to the fuselage and the engine had separated from it and came to rest a few feet from the main wreckage. The left-wing hopper boom was collocated with the main wreckage and the right-wing hopper boom was located at the first point of impact (hopper trailer).

All three propeller blades remained attached to the propeller hub, which was attached to the engine. Each of the blades displayed varying degrees of bending. Two of the blades exhibited gouges at the blade tips and were bent about midspan toward the cambered side of the blades. The third blade was also bent about midspan toward the cambered side of the blade.

During a postaccident examination of the airframe and engine, flight control continuity was established from all flight control surfaces to the flight controls in the cockpit. The engine displayed contact signatures to its internal components that were consistent with the engine developing power at the time of impact.

The FAA forensic toxicology report indicated negative for all substances tested.

The pilot’s autopsy was conducted by the Butte County Coroner, Oroville, California. The cause of death was blunt force injury of the neck.