- Date
- March 18, 1998, 18:00 local (Mar 19, 1998, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Willows, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N32064Ayres S2R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980318003709A
- Case key
- 30052
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 altitude/clearance from the wires.
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 that he was taking a load for spraying, and did not maintain clearance with wires that he was attempting to maneuver the aircraft under. The rudder was torn off after the aircraft struck power lines. The pilot landed the aircraft without further incident. No other anomalies were noted with the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On March 18, 1998 at 1800 hours Pacific standard time, an Ayers S2R, N32064, struck power lines while maneuvering underneath them, and made an emergency landing in an open field near Willows, California. The aircraft, operated by Willows Flying Service under 14 CFR Part 137 as an agricultural crop dusting operation, sustained substantial damage. The commercial rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from a private airstrip.
The pilot reported that he was taking a load out to an alfalfa field for spraying, and did not maintain clearance with wires that he was attempting to maneuver the aircraft under. The rudder was torn off after the aircraft struck power lines. The aircraft entered a continuous right turn after the loss of the rudder. The pilot then flew over a large open field, reduced power, and landed without further incident.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Sacramento, California, Flight Standards District Office examined the aircraft on-scene. No other anomalies were noted with the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32064
- Reported as
- Ayres S2R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- G10-113
- Airframe hours
- 794
- Engine
- Allied Signal TPE331-10, 940 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Willows Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- CA
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 700 in this make and model · 4,950 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BAB, 48 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.
Other investigations on N32064 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.