On April 25, 1998, a Grumman-schweizer G-164B (registration N63E) operated by Kinder AG Service was involved in an aviation accident near Oberlin, LA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor was the gusty wind. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During a rice seed application pass, the pilot lost control of the agricultural airplane while turning. The aircraft inverted at 100 feet and impacted the ground. Winds were from the southeast at 20–35 knots.
Incident Summary
At the conclusion of a pass to apply rice seed to a field, the pilot of an agricultural airplane initiated a turn to reverse direction. During this maneuver, control of the aircraft was lost. The airplane became inverted at an altitude of approximately 100 feet above the ground. The pilot was unable to regain control before the aircraft struck the ground.
Pilot Report
The pilot reported that winds were from the southeast at 20 to 35 knots at the time of the accident. He stated that the accident could have been prevented by not flying in conditions with wind gusts exceeding 35 knots.