What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The pilot was conducting aerial application for treatment of cat tails in approximately a 5 mile long area of ditches. The morning sun was low and obscured view of wires until the pilot saw them at the last moment. The pilot dove down at the last second to go under the wire and struck the wire. The pilot figured he was doing about 40 KTS at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that he conducted an aerial survey of the area on the previous day when he was spraying the same stretch of ditches. The pilot was not sure that he did a survey before spraying on the accident day. The pilot was about 3 miles into the pass when he struck the wires.
As the FAA filed it
THE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING AERIAL APPLICATION FOR TREATMENT OF CAT TAILS IN APPROXIMATELY A 5 MILE LONG AREA OF DITCHES. THE MORNING SUN WAS LOW AND OBSCURED VIEW OF WIRES UNTIL THE PILOT SAW THEM AT THE LAST MOMENT. THE PILOT DOVE DOWN AT THE LAST SECOND TO GO UNDER THE WIRE AND STRUCK THE WIRE. THE PILOT FIGURED HE WAS DOING ABOUT 40 KTS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE CONDUCTED AN AERIAL SURVEY OF THE AREA ON THE PREVIOUS DAY WHEN HE WAS SPRAYING THE SAME STRETCH OF DITCHES. THE PILOT WAS NOT SURE THAT HE DID A SURVEY BEFORE SPRAYING ON THE ACCIDENT DAY. THE PILOT WAS ABOUT 3 MILES INTO THE PASS WHEN HE STRUCK THE WIRES.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.