Light Aircraft Collides with Power Lines Before Crashing into River (N5175L)

What happened

Eyewitnesses at the accident site reported observing the aircraft operating at a low altitude while traveling from east to west. The flight path followed closely along a river corridor as the plane approached a set of suspended power transmission lines. Just prior to impact, witnesses noted that the airplane executed a roll maneuver. Immediately following this movement, the aircraft collided with the uppermost wire of the transmission array. The force of the collision tore the right wing away from the fuselage. Following the structural failure, the airplane descended rapidly into the river below and sank completely.

The investigation

The investigation relied primarily on witness observations regarding the flight path and the nature of the impact with the power lines. No mechanical examination of the recovered wreckage was detailed in the provided source material.