Event GAA19CA452

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that, during an aerial application low pass, he descended below the height of the wires adjacent to the field. Shortly after, he saw a telephone pole and maneuvered the airplane to avoid the pole, but the airplane's left wing struck the top of the pole. The airplane rolled left through a tree and impacted the ground inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the both wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, during an agricultural application low pass, he descended below the height of wires adjacent to the field. Shortly after, he saw a telephone pole and maneuvered the airplane to avoid the pole, but the airplane's left wing struck the top of the pole. The airplane rolled left and impacted the ground inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Pole-Effect on operation - C