What happened
On the morning of 12 December 2016, the pilot of ZK-JPU, a Pacific Aerospace 750XL, was performing aerial topdressing duties near Gisborne. Following a change in the day's work plan requested by the operator's managing director, the pilot had added a task at Pembroke Station to the schedule. Earlier that morning, the aircraft had departed Gisborne Aerodrome with the pilot and two loader drivers to operate from a private airstrip.
During the same period, another pilot operating a similar aircraft, ZK-XLA, was conducting topdressing at Bushy Knoll Station. At approximately 0-850 hours, the pilots exchanged radio communications regarding their positions. The pilot of ZK-XLA noted that ZK-JPU was flying to the left of his position. As the pilot of ZK-XLA began a climbing right turn to return to the airstrip, he observed an object trailing from the left wing of ZK-JPU.
Upon realizing the trailing object was an electrical wire, the pilot of ZK-XLA alerted the other aircraft via radio, but received no reply. The aircraft ZK-JPU continued traveling down the valley, rolling toward the left before striking the terrain approximately 700 meters south of the power line span. The impact was followed by a post-impact fire. The incident resulted in 1 fatality (the pilot of ZK-JPU).
Findings
- The aircraft struck 110 kV high-voltage power lines spanning the valley.
- The collision with power lines caused the aircraft to lose control and impact the ground.