Primary finding
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a transmission wire. A factor associated with the accident is the transmission wire.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot reported he was making a final aerial application run over a fifty acre field. As he crossed over a transmission wire which bordered the field, the main landing gear snagged a wire, and the airplane descended uncontrollably to ground collision.
Source record
Factual narrative
On July 23, 1994, about 0645 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301 airplane, N7301Y, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a transmission wire and terrain near Eckelson, North Dakota. The solo commercial pilot aboard received minor injuries. The aerial application flight operated without flight plan in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 137. The pilot reported he was making a final swath run and was crossing above transmission lines which bisected the field. When he felt that he had cleared the lines, he nosed the airplane over to lose altitude. One wheel of the main landing gear struck a transmission line during the descent. The pilot was unable to maintain control of the airplane and collided with terrain. -