Accident Overview
On June 15, 2018, about 1010 mountain daylight time, a Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation-Schweizer G-164B airplane, registration N6672Q, impacted hilly terrain during an aerial application flight near Arrey, New Mexico. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane received substantial wing and fuselage damage during the impact.
Flight Details
The airplane was registered to an individual and operated by Valley Ag Aerial Services as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from the Hatch Municipal Airport, near Hatch, New Mexico, about 0900.
Operator and Pilot Statements
According to the operator, the pilot completed four aerial application loads "just fine." The pilot then turned to perform a clean-up pass of the field and crashed into a hillside. The pilot reported no memory of the events leading to the accident or its cause. The operator stated that no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane were identified.
Environmental and Field Conditions
Another operator who had previously sprayed the accident field noted that rising terrain borders the field on the east side. He stated that if spraying occurred in the morning with east/west passes, the east-facing swath would be into the sun and approaching rapidly rising terrain.
At 1010, the United States Navy Observatory reported the sun's altitude and azimuth in Hatch, New Mexico, as 49.7° and 91.6°, respectively.
Weather Information
At 0955, the recorded weather at Las Cruces International Airport, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, was: wind 160° at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 31°C; dew point 7°C; altimeter 29.98 inches of mercury.