What happened
The aircraft was engaged in an agricultural operation, specifically tasked with spraying grasshoppers. During this mission, the plane was flying in an easterly direction. While maintaining this heading, the right wing of the aircraft made contact with a high-line wire that was oriented in a north-south direction.
Following the impact with the overhead wire, the aircraft lost control and struck the ground. The crash site was located approximately 190 feet east of the high line where the initial collision occurred. Upon impact, the pilot became pinned to the wreckage. Emergency responders were able to extricate the pilot after he had been trapped for approximately 45 minutes. He was subsequently transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
The investigation
The primary mechanical event identified during the reconstruction of the accident involved the right wing striking a high-line wire. This contact initiated the sequence that led to the ground impact. No other mechanical failures or pre-impact anomalies were noted in the provided narrative.
Findings
The critical factor in this accident was the collision with an overhead obstacle during low-level agricultural operations. The pilot's inability to avoid the high-line wire resulted in a fatal-seeming incident, though the pilot survived the initial crash sequence. The duration of entrapment highlights the dangers associated with remote or difficult-to-access crash sites during agricultural spraying missions.