- Date
- June 15, 1995, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Athens, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8035VCessna 188D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950615017799A
- Case key
- 3572
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate lookout, and his failure to maintain clearance from the utility line.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he had completed a swath run, and was on climbout from a field, when he attempted to fly under a set of powerlines. The airplane collided with the utility lines and fell to the ground. No mechanical problems were reported by the pilot.
Factual narrative
On June 15, 1995, at 1230 central daylight time, a Cessna 188D, N8035V, collided with a high voltage power line while maneuvering twelve miles northwest of Huntsville, Alabama. The aerial application flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The aircraft was destroyed, and the pilot was not injured. The flight departed a private airstrip near Athens, Alabama, at 1215 hours.
The pilot stated that he had completed a swath run, and was on a climbout from the field, when he attempted to fly under a set of power lines near the sprayed field. The airplane collided with the power lines and fell to the ground. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
The pilot did not complete and return NTSB Form 6120.1/2 as requested.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8035V
- Reported as
- Cessna 188D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 188
- Airframe hours
- 2,380
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Charles L. Stutesman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 1, 1995
- Departed
- DCU
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 21,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HSV, 592 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.