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CEN17CA120

2017-03-02 · Fairmont, Oklahoma, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

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

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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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