| Crash location | 35.427778°N, 119.486666°W |
| Nearest city | Buttonwillow, CA
35.400517°N, 119.469562°W 2.1 miles away |
| Tail number | N5286 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 13 Jun 2011 |
| Aircraft type | Grumman G-164A |
| Additional details: | None |
On June 13, 2011, about 1825 pacific daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, N5286 sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway and collided with two dumpsters at a private airstrip in Buttonwillow, California. The airplane was registered to Slikker Flying Service, Inc., and operated by Vince Dusters under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The commercial pilot was not injured. The flight originated from a private field in Buttonwillow, California at 1000.
The airplane maintenance records indicated that the airplane's last annual inspection was performed on December 1, 2010 and the log books were annotated that the airplane was airworthy. The airplane was not flown after the annual inspection until a day before the accident when the company owner test flew the airplane and reported that the airplane was airworthy and the brakes were operating normally.
The pilot stated that on the day of the accident he had conducted numerous landings on the accident airstrip and the brakes where "a little worn out," but had operated well enough to allow stopping on the runway. The pilot further stated that he was fatigued and dehydrated after flying for nearly 8 hours. On the accident landing the pilot reported that he was slightly fast on the approach with a tailwind of approximately 5-10 knots. Upon touchdown he was unable to stop the airplane before the end of the runway and exited the right side. After the airplane exited the runway the airplane's right wing struck a dumpster. The initial impact with the dumpster caused the airplane to spin into a second dumpster with which the airplane came to rest against. Immediately after the accident the owner/operator checked the brakes and found them to be operating normally.
Three days after the accident, an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noted that the right brake would not hold pressure and was leaking brake fluid from the right master cylinder. The left brake would hold pressure after about 8 pumps, but was leaking brake fluid from the b-nut at the hard line to the flex line at the caliper. The continuity of the brake system was not checked at that time.
The pilot's misjudgment of the landing approach and subsequent long landing and overrun of the runway resulting in a collision with ground obstacles. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's likely fatigue and dehydration.