History of Flight
On March 7, 2023, at approximately 1611 Pacific standard time, a Rockwell International S-2R, registration N8424V, sustained substantial damage during an accident near Willows, California. The pilot, who was operating the aircraft under 14 CFR Part 137 for aerial application, suffered fatal injuries. The operator reported that the pilot intended to spray fungicide over orchards. Data from an onboard GPS guidance system indicated the airplane departed Willows/Glenn County Airport at 0848 and sprayed three fields over about five hours.
At 1509, after finishing a field, the pilot flew to the accident almond orchard and performed an orbit. The field was half a mile square, divided by two banks of parallel north-south power transmission lines supported by three sets of 130-ft towers. The plot owner reported employing a ground crew to spray trees beneath the lines.
The pilot returned to WLW at 1519, departed at 1541 for the orchard, and began spraying at 1544, flying a north-south racetrack pattern west of the powerlines. Each pass descended to between 130 and 140 ft AGL at about 160 mph. After refilling at 1549, he departed at 1554 and returned to WLW at 1601 for four minutes before departing for the orchard again.
The pilot resumed the same pattern. His final two northerly passes occurred at 1609:30 and 1610:39, about 100 ft west of the powerlines at 131 ft AGL. The flight track ceased at 1611:33 about 0.6 nm southwest of the accident site. A witness northwest of the field observed the airplane make passes about 25 minutes before the accident and heard a loud noise about two minutes after the last pass.
Personnel Information
The pilot had completed a flight review two months before the accident, but his paper logbook contained no entries beyond 1999, and no additional pilot records were found. The operator stated the pilot had been flying for about eight hours that day and had sprayed the accident field multiple times previously. The pilot’s wife noted no unusual behavior or sleep habits in the 72 hours before the accident and mentioned it was during the agricultural off-season.
Meteorological Information
Sunset on March 7, 2023, was at 1807, with dusk beginning at 1834. At the accident time, the sun was approximately 21° above the horizon on an azimuth of 244°.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest inverted in an almond orchard about 500 ft northeast of a powerline tower, oriented on a magnetic heading of 038°, adjacent to a severed lower conductor. All major structural components were accounted for. A debris field of broken tree branches lay about 50 ft southeast of the site, and a 5-ft diameter ground scar was collocated with the main wreckage. Both ailerons and flaps remained attached to their respective wings, both of which were attached to the fuselage. The right wing had a 3-ft diameter depression with accordion-style deformation and tree remnants. The left wing leading edge had a depression about 10 ft from the root. A section of conductor, about 2 inches in diameter, was wrapped around the propeller hub. The conductor traced through the left wing depression to the trees southeast.
The first point of impact was the west inboard powerline about midspan between two towers, about 500 ft southwest of the accident site. The lowest conductor at the towers was about 75 ft AGL at the tower, sagging to 36 ft AGL midspan. The powerlines were north-south, held by 130-ft towers supporting multiple lines at various heights. An identical set of powerlines was located about 115 ft west of the first impact point.
Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. Flight control and fuel system continuity were confirmed, and the auxiliary fuel boost pump functioned normally. The propeller shaft exhibited rotational scoring consistent with engine operation at impact. The spinner dome had braided scoring, and three propeller blade leading edges had cable notches. Blade 2 had a gouge in the trailing edge consistent with cable wrap. Rotational scoring and leading edge cuts indicated inflight impact with a cable as the propeller rotated. An impact signature inside the piston corresponded to a 17.7° blade angle, consistent with power condition in flight. Two dowel pin holes on the mounting flange were deformed in the rotation direction. A counterweight impact mark in the spinner dome was measured at 17.4°, corresponding to a blade angle about 4° closer to flight idle, consistent with lower power at terrain impact.