What happened
On April 17, 2016, an extra 300L aircraft, registration SP-TLS, was conducting a recreational flight with one passenger. The flight originated from Lososina and was intended to remain within the vicinity of the EPNL airfield.
While flying northeast along the Dunajec riverbed, the pilot maintained a critically low altitude. As the aircraft traversed the area near Czchów, it struck a 240V electrical power line spanning the river near a ferry crossing. The impact caused three power lines to snap; witnesses on a nearby ferry reported hearing the sound of the wires breaking and observed the cables falling onto the ferry's main guiding line. During the collision, two structural components from the aircraft detached and fell into the river. Following the strike, the pilot climbed to an altitude of 800 meters and returned to the departure airfield to land and inspect the damage.
The investigation
The investigation established that the pilot was operating the aircraft at an extremely low altitude along the riverbed. A witness on a ferry observed the red aircraft flying very low and noted that it began to climb sharply just before the ferry crossing, immediately preceding the sound of the snapping lines. The pilot subsequently drove to the site of the incident to meet with police, where they admitted responsibility for the event. A breathalyzer test administered to the pilot yielded a result of 0.00 mg/l.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the flight at a critically low altitude while traversing the riverbed.
- The collision with the 240V power lines resulted in one person on the ground sustaining a minor injury (bruising near the arm) after being struck by a severed wire.
- The aircraft sustained significant damage, and parts of the airframe were lost to the river.