CHI95LA178

The airplane struck the ground wire of electrical power transmission lines. The airplane was returned to the airport without incident and was discovered to have its left wing bent aft 1 to 1 1/2 inches after the pilot had departed the airport. The pilot said he was showing a passenger what would happen if the airplane's engine should quit. He said he had not realized his airplane had hit a wire during the demonstration. The pilot and a passenger said the simulated emergency landing was made next to the pilot's place of employment. The on-scene investigation revealed an open field next to the place of employment that measured 100 feet by 200 feet.

On June 13, 1995, at 1430 eastern daylight time (edt), a Piper PA-28R-200, N5256T, registered to Munley-Smith Aviation Incorporated, of Bay City, Michigan, and piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with an electrical transmission powerline ground wire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and three passengers reported no injuries. The flight departed Bay City, Michigan, at 1415 edt.

According to the pilot's statement on NTSB Form 6120.1/2, he was "...practicing emergency landing procedures over [a] rural area and didn't see a high voltage wire. Wingtip caught top line on a practice turn to final." During a telephone interview with the pilot he said one of his passengers asked what happens when an engine quits. He said he thought he would show him and began to simulate an emergency landing. He stated he did not realize he had hit a wire when he had lined up with a field next to his place of employment.

The Bay County Michigan Sheriff's report contained a witness interview that stated, in part, the pilot was showing N5256T's passengers where he worked. Two witnesses on the ground observed N5256T flying low, one observed it strike the powerline ground wire. Both witnesses said they heard the airplane's engine accelerate after it struck the wires and observed it climb and fly away from the area. A Federal Aviation Administration Principal Operations Inspector assisted with the accident investigation. He said the area in which the wire strike took place was congested with buildings and had an open field about 200 feet long by 100 feet wide next to the pilot's place of employment.

Damage to the airplane consisted of a left wing being bent aft at the wing root. An approximate 1 to 1 1/2 inch space was observed between the wing root's leading edge and fuselage. The wing tip had a 3 inch grove in it perpendicular to the wing chord. The fuselage's left side was buckled inward around the wing flap area. The pilot had not reported the damage. It was discovered about 4 hours after the wire strike had taken place.