- Date
- July 27, 1994, 16:07 local (21:07 UTC)
- Place
- Lomax, IL
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9409ACessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940727020139A
- Case key
- 9610
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 failure to maintain clearance from a transmission wire, and the pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate altitude. A factor associated with the accident is the transmission wire.
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 reported he and his pilot-rated passenger were flying along the Mississippi river when the airplane struck an unseen and unmarked power line. The airplane subsequently went into the river, and the pilot and passenger were rescued by boaters. According to a police officer who interviewed the pilot and passenger just after the accident, they said they were just flying along the river, waving at people and having fun. A power company representative said the height of the two poles which supported the power line was about 60'; he said the height of the wire which the airplane struck was approximately 45-50'.
Factual narrative
On July 27, 1994, about 1607 central daylight time, a Cessna 140 airplane, N9409A, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a transmission wire and then fell into the Mississippi River near Lomax, Illinois. The Airline Transport certificated pilot and pilot-rated passenger aboard received minor injuries. The flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions.
The pilot reported that he and the airplane owner/passenger had departed Grove, Oklahoma about 1230 en route to Moline, Illinois. While flying along the Mississippi River, the airplane collided with unseen and unmarked power lines. The airplane subsequently went into the river, and the pilot and passenger exited the airplane and were picked up by a boater.
According to the State Trooper who interviewed the pilots shortly after the accident, they said words to the effect that they were flying along the river, just having fun and waving at people when they struck the wire. A power company representative said the height of the two power poles supporting the power line was approximately 60 feet; he said the height of the power line the airplane struck was approximately 45-50 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9409A
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15230
- Airframe hours
- 15,544
- Engine
- Continental C-90-14F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Martin R. Clarke
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 20, 1993 · 48 hours before
- Departed
- 1H7 · Grove, OK
- Destination
- MOL · Moline, IL
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
- 35
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,200 total · 50 in this make and model · 1,840 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 75 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.