ATL90LA020

1989-10-17 · VALDOSTA, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport VLD

Aircraft involved

N172SC Cessna 172N None

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT BY THE PILOT (FAILURE TO SEE & AVOID THE OBSTRUCTION). CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE TRANSMISSION (POWER) LINE AND LACK OF VISUAL CUES (PILOT'S VISUAL PERCEPTION).

Factual narrative

WHILE THE PLT WAS PATROLLING A 115 KV POWER LINE, THE ACFT FLEW INTO A 230 KV LINE THAT CROSSED OVER THE 115 KV LINE. THE PLT FELT A 'JOLT' AS THE ACFT STRUCK THE 230 KV LINE, BUT THE ACFT CONTINUED FLYING. HE MADE A CONTROLLABILITY CHECK, THEN HE RETURNED TO THE ARPT & LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. AN EXAM REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WING TIP, VERTICAL STABILIZER & RUDDER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL90LA020.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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