What happened
While conducting an aerial application, the pilot was performing a fourth pass over a field when he failed to initiate a pull-up in sufficient time to clear a powerline. During the maneuver, the right main landing gear made contact with the wire. Although the aircraft was equipped with a wire cutter on the right landing gear, the device failed to sever the line.
The force of the impact caused the wire to break into two pieces. The portion of the wire on the right side of the aircraft broke approximately 30 feet from the plane. This section of wire passed underneath the empennage and became wrapped around the left elevator. The tension from the trailing wire began cutting through the left elevator and the horizontal stabilizer until the wire on the left side of the aircraft eventually snapped.
A 75-foot section of the wire continued to trail behind the aircraft as the pilot maintained flight. To manage the situation, the pilot applied approximately 40 pounds of forward stick pressure and elected not to dump the chemical load. The pilot was able to successfully land the aircraft at Newton, Kansas.
Findings
The pilot reported experiencing fatigue following a period of working approximately 18-hour days during the week preceding the accident.