NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN17CA120
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a power line while conducting agricultural spray operations.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated he was conducting spray operations to a pasture with power lines on its north border. As the pilot approached the pasture from the north on his fourth pass, he intended to descend after flying past the second of two cables. The pilot initiated a descent, but the airplane struck the second cable. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground and a post impact fire ensued. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he misidentified the first cable as the second cable. The pilot stated that he was conducting spray operations to a pasture with power lines on its north border. As the pilot approached the pasture from the north on his fourth pass, he intended to descend after flying past the second of two cables. The pilot initiated a descent, but the airplane struck the second cable. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground and a postimpact fire ensued. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he misidentified the first cable as the second cable. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot - C
- C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Effect on operation - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2017_CEN17CA120.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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