- Date
- September 16, 2015, 14:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Paxton, NE
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3628ZSchweizer G 164B
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150916016189A
- Case key
- 92016
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 adequate distance from a power line during low altitude flight operations, which resulted in an impact with the power line, and subsequent impact with the ground.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during an agricultural application flight, he was making spray passes under a power line. During the last pass, the left wing of the airplane struck the power line, and the airplane descended and impacted the ground. The pilot exited the airplane, and a postcrash fire ensued. The pilot reported that he believed he encountered a dust devil which caused the left wing to rise and contact the power line. About the time of the accident, a nearby weather reporting station was reporting, temperature 90 degrees Fahrenheit and wind from 120 degrees true at 4 knots. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during an agricultural application flight, he was making spray passes under a power line. During the last pass, the left wing of the airplane struck the power line, and the airplane descended and impacted the ground. The pilot exited the airplane, and a postcrash fire ensued. The pilot reported that he believed he encountered a dust devil which caused the left wing to rise and contact the power line. About the time of the accident, a nearby weather reporting station was reporting, temperature 90 degrees Fahrenheit and wind from 120 degrees true at 4 knots. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3628Z
- Reported as
- Schweizer G 164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 738B
- Built
- 1984
- Airframe hours
- 3,650
- Engine
- Pratt and Whitney R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Mcclung Aerial Spraying
- Registered owner
- Mcclung Aerial Spraying
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 12, 2014
- Departed
- PVT · Paxton, NE
- Destination
- PVT · Paxton, NE
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 10, 2014
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 8,400 total · 7,600 in this make and model · 110 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.80 inHg
- Observed at
- KOGA, 19 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 5, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3628Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.