Accident Summary
On Monday, 25 August 2003, at 10:00 local time, a Cessna AG TRUCK A-188-B, registration EC-CZS, was involved in an accident at Finca 'El Soldado' in Puebla del Río, Seville, Spain. The aircraft was engaged in aerial agricultural spraying operations. The pilot, aged 36, held a commercial pilot license and had a total of 680 hours 50 minutes of flight experience, with 227 hours 50 minutes on type.
Flight and Accident Sequence
The aircraft began its agricultural spraying activities at 08:30 from the company operations center at Finca 'El Reboso'. After working for about 1 hour 10 minutes, it landed to refill with approximately 500 liters of liquid fungicide. It then departed again to spray a rice field in a nearby farm. After 15 minutes of flight, while near the target field, the aircraft initiated a left turn to align for the spray run. During the turn, the pilot reported that the aircraft began to 'sink tail' (tail-low attitude). Despite corrective actions, including increasing power and widening the turn, the attitude could not be corrected. The pilot decided to perform an emergency discharge of the chemical load. During this process, the left wing struck a low-voltage power line pole at a height of about 2.5 to 3 meters, causing the aircraft to fall to the ground.
Damage
The aircraft was destroyed. The left wing separated from the aircraft in multiple fragments, with a piece of the leading edge embedded in the pole. The left main landing gear detached. The forward fuselage and right wing remained relatively intact, while the aft fuselage and tail assembly separated and rotated approximately 90 degrees relative to the fuselage. Additional damage included deformation of four power line poles, damage to wiring, and destruction of half a hectare of rice crop.
Pilot and Injuries
The pilot exited the aircraft unaided and reported no injuries or damage to himself. The source explicitly states the pilot did not suffer any harm.
Probable Cause
According to the investigation, the accident was likely due to insufficient speed during the turn, leading to a stall. The pilot's actions were considered appropriate, but the low altitude typical of such operations likely prevented recovery even without the pole strike.