Accident Details
The agricultural airplane collided with two powerlines that were suspended approximately 20 feet above cotton fields. The powerlines were oriented in a north-south direction. The airplane was equipped with a SATLOC system, and the pilot was aligning it for the first pass on a 320-acre field intended for spraying.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported flying on a westerly heading over a brownish-colored matured cotton field. He never saw the dull aluminum wires before the collision. The wires severed after impacting the top of the windshield, the upper portion of the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder assembly. The rudder assembly was partially ripped from its mounts and jammed in a marked right rudder deflection.
Post-Impact Maneuver
After flying through the powerlines, the pilot attempted to continue straight ahead on a westerly heading. However, the rudder was pulling the airplane into a right turn, which the pilot could not control with full opposite aileron input. When the pilot could no longer maintain control, he extended the flaps and crashed into a cotton field in a right wing low attitude.