# Accident 19970620026829A: Piper PA25235, Faulkton, SD, June 20, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 20, 1997, 20:15 local time
- Place: Faulkton, SD
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Location: 45.0300° N, 99.1209° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.0300&lon=-99.1209&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7378Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7378Z-2000-02-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-25-235 (registry code 7102504, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA25235
- Reported engine: LYC O540B2B5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 304 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI97LA174](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA174) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970620026829A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4) A WITNESS SAID THAT HE SAW THE AIRPLANE MAKE A LOW PASS TO THE WEST. THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROXIMATELY 1/4-MILE NORTH OF HIS LOCATION.  HE SAW THE AIRPLANE COME BACK AROUND FOR ANOTHER PASS.  THE WITNESS SAID THAT ON THE SECOND PASS THE AIRPLANE DIPPED DOWN IN ALTITUDE A SLIGHT BIT AFTER SPRAYING AND THEN BURST INTO FLAMES.  THE FARMER SAID THAT THE SUN WAS LOW IN THE SKY AT THE TIME.  A DEPUTY SHERIFF, WHO RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE SAID THAT HE MET THE PILOT OF THE AIRPLANE ALONG SIDE A DIRT ROAD.  THE DEPUTY SHERIFF SAID THAT THE PILOT TOLD HIM THAT HE HIT SOME POWER LINES AND CRASHED.  EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO ANOMALIES.  EXAMINATION OF THREE NORTH-SOUTH RUNNING SUSPENDED POWER LINES, REVEALED THAT TWO OF THE LINES WERE SEVERED.  THE POWER LINES IN THE AREA WERE SUSPENDED APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.  ONE OF THE POLES SUPPORTING THE POWER LINES WAS HIDDEN BY TREES.                                                             (-23) ON JUNE 20, 1997, AT 2015 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-25-235, N7378Z, OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT STRUCK A POWER LINE DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION PASS. THE AIRPLANE SUBSEQUENTLY IMPACTED  THE TERRAIN AND BURNED. VISUAL METEROOLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 137.  NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS ON FILE. THE PILOT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI97LA174](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA174), Jun 21, 1997: Piper PA-25-235 (N7378Z), Faulkton, SD, destroyed. Probable cause: the pilot's inability to see the power lines and the power lines. Factors contributing to this accident were the trees and the sunglare.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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