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WPR23LA212

2023-06-04 · Colusa, California, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a power line during a low-level aerial application flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported this was the eighth aerial application flight of the day spraying rice fields. He had made all takeoff’s flying low under a power line about 3/4 mile from the departure end of the runway. He stated that due to the monotony of the flights combined with fatigue and a bi-plane wing configuration, he lost sight of the power line and struck it. The airplane impacted the ground and cartwheeled sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, vertical and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Mental/emotional state-Boredom-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Physical-Alertness/Fatigue-Fatigue due to work schedule-Pilot
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Compliance w/ procedure
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA212.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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