19960320010569I

Incident

FAA incident report · Balwks FIREFLY 9 · Palm Desert, CA · March 20, 1996

Date
March 20, 1996 · 07:31 local
Place
Palm Desert, CA
Phase of flight
Final Approach
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft
N90738
Reported as
Balwks FIREFLY9
People aboard
6
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
1,870 total350 in this make and model60 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: commercial sight seeing flight. Pilot was attempting to land in a large field. Power poles were obscured by trees. Didn't see power lines until last minute. Pilot applied heat but contact with power lines was made. This incident is closed.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: COMMERCIAL SIGHT SEEING FLIGHT. PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND IN A LARGE FIELD. POWER POLES WERE OBSCURED BY TREES. DIDN'T SEE POWER LINES UNTIL LAST MINUTE. PILOT APPLIED HEAT BUT CONTACT WITH POWER LINES WAS MADE. THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED.