What happened
During a pre-solo dual instructional flight in the traffic pattern, a Cessna 152 impacted a power line located 1.5 nautical miles south of the non-towered airport. Witnesses near the airport observed the aircraft flying over runway 16. Approximately one minute later, an MU-2 twin engine turboprop landed on runway 34. A witness reported that an electrical power outage occurred at the airport before the MU-2 exited the runway.
Other witnesses located south of the airport reported seeing and hearing a small single-engine airplane reduce power, descend low over residential houses, and continue traveling south. One witness southwest of the airport heard a twin engine airplane traveling northeast and, roughly 30 seconds later, observed the Cessna strike the power line.
Records show a 911 call reporting the accident was received at 1749, with an electrical power outage recorded at 1750. Radar data from 1749 placed the Cessna 1/4 nm northeast of the airport on a left base for runway 16, while the MU-2 was located 5 nm northeast of the airport. Because no subsequent radar returns were recorded for the Cessna, investigators could not determine if an imminent collision threat existed between the two aircraft. Additionally, sunset occurred at 1756 on a heading of 238 degrees, suggesting the pilots would have been looking into the setting sun to view the power line, which was positioned west of the extended centerline of runway 16.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the Cessna 152 found no evidence of mechanical discrepancies.