On October 15, 2003, a Cessna 188 (registration EC-ENC) was involved in an aviation accident near Finca San Nicolás, T.M. Saltares (Sevilla), ES. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The accident was due to the pilot's error in failing to maintain a trajectory clear of the power line cables. The sun's position was a contributing factor, as it prevented the pilot from using the right support tower as a reference. This summary draws on records from the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC).
On October 15, 2003, a Cessna T-188-C (EC-ENC) struck high-voltage power lines during an agricultural spraying run in Salteras, Spain. The pilot was injured, and the aircraft suffered major damage.
Incident Overview and Location On Wednesday, October 15, 2003, at 18:15 local time, a Cessna T-188-C agricultural aircraft with registration EC-ENC struck high-voltage power lines while conducting a liquid treatment over a cotton field in the municipality of Salteras, Seville, Spain. The field was roughly rectangular, with its longest side oriented northwest-southeast. A high-voltage power line ran nearly perpendicular to this orientation, close to one of the field's edges. ## Flight Operations and Sequence of Events The pilot was performing treatment passes along the field's longest side. During the penultimate pass, flying northwest, the aircraft passed under the power line and executed a 180-degree turn to align for the final southeast pass. On the final approach, the aircraft did not pass under the line but instead struck two of the cables. One cable interfered with the left wing and propeller, causing the engine to stop before the cable broke. The other cable struck the right wing and the wire-cutting blade on the cockpit front, which severed it. After being freed from the cables, the aircraft continued on kinetic energy alone, traveling approximately 500 meters in a right turn toward a plowed field before impacting the ground. During the ground impact, the left main landing gear leg, the left wingtip, and the left-side spraying booms were torn off. The aircraft slid to a stop a short distance later. Fuel leaked from the tanks but did not ignite. ## Injuries and Damage The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained spinal and rib injuries and was hospitalized for more than 48 hours. The aircraft sustained major damage, including a bent propeller on all blades, severe engine damage with a deformed engine mount, broken wings with deformed struts, a torn-off left main gear leg, a folded right main gear leg, and a twisted fuselage. The wire-cutting blades on the landing gear and cockpit front showed clear signs of impact and likely cut the cables. The two power line cables, approximately 25 mm in diameter, were severed, but the supporting towers were not affected. ## Pilot and Aircraft Background The 36-year-old pilot held a valid commercial pilot license for airplanes, with ratings for single-engine and multi-engine land aircraft, Air Tractor, and instrument flight. He had 4,317 total flight hours, including 1,146 hours on the type. He had applied on March 8, 2001, for the agroforestry pilot endorsement under a transitional provision of Royal Decree 1684/2000. On April 18, 2001, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation notified him that his application had been received and that, pending resolution, he was authorized to conduct agroforestry operations. Nearly 30 months later, the application remained unresolved. In the 30 days before the accident, the pilot had made 52 flights totaling 8 hours 15 minutes. The day before the accident, he made 6 flights totaling 1 hour. The accident flight was his second of the day. The aircraft had a valid airworthiness certificate until April 21, 2004, and had accumulated 3,020:20 hours at the time of the accident. Its last 100-hour maintenance check was completed on April 6, 2003, at 2,943 hours. ## Analysis and Contributing Factors The wire-cutting blades on the main landing gear and cockpit front functioned correctly, preventing the aircraft from falling directly beneath the cables and reducing the severity of the ground impact. Given the aircraft's trajectory angle of approximately 75 degrees to the power line and the left support tower being about 200 meters away, the cables were estimated to be about 50 meters ahead of the aircraft when it was level with the left tower. At the time of the accident, the sun was in the southwest, low on the horizon, in a direction similar to where the right support tower would have been visible from the aircraft. This likely prevented the pilot from seeing the right tower. The pilot's statement supported this, noting he relied solely on the left tower as a reference and believed the line was behind him. He also attributed not seeing the cables to the sun being nearly directly in front of him and low on the horizon. ## Probable Cause and Recommendations The investigation concluded that the accident was due to the pilot's error in failing to maintain a trajectory clear of the power line cables. The sun's position was a contributing factor, as it prevented the pilot from using the right support tower as a reference. The report recommended that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation take measures to expedite the resolution of agroforestry pilot endorsement applications submitted under the transitional provision of Royal Decree 1684/2000, noting that the prolonged pending status created a safety concern.