Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to avoid wires.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The airplane collided with high tension wires during an aerial application flight. The operator noted in the report that the 'pilot should have avoided wires.'
Source record
Factual narrative
On September 20, 1993, at 1545 hours Pacific daylight time, a Gulfstream-Schweitzer G-164B, N8133K, collided with high tension wires near Buttonwillow, California. The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules aerial application flight under Title 14 CFR Part 137. The airplane, operated by Vince Crop Dusters Inc., sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at a privately owned airstrip at Buttonwillow, California, at an undetermined time. The pilot or operator did not provide a statement with respect to the circumstances of the accident in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2. The operator noted in the recommendations section of the report that the "pilot should have avoided wires." -