What happened
On 12 September 2014, a Cessna Agwagon A188B, registration ZS-ION, was engaged in agricultural pesticide spraying over a canola field at Waterkloof Farm in the Heidelberg area of the Western Cape. The pilot, who was performing the mission under agricultural supervision training, had been making multiple trips between the field and a nearby private airstrip to replenish fuel and pesticide loads.
During the operation, the aircraft was flying at a very low altitude. Witnesses observed the aircraft approaching a smaller section of the field before it suddenly struck high-tension electrical wires. The impact caused the aircraft to lose altitude and enter a nose-down attitude, eventually impacting the ground in an inverted position. The pilot sustained fatal injuries and passed away in the hospital several hours after the accident. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators examined the wreckage and the operational history of the flight. The investigation established that the left-hand wing tip of the Cessna Agwagon A188B struck lower electrical wires. While the pilot was aware of high-tension wires in the general area, the specific wires involved in the collision reportedly blended into the background, making them difficult to detect.
Technical scrutiny of the aircraft revealed that the rudder control system had recently undergone maintenance. Specifically, two unserviceable rudder bell cranks had been replaced with parts from another aircraft, ZS-JMD. Investigators found evidence of non-compliance regarding the rudder system rigging and the lack of required dual inspections. Furthermore, some maintenance actions were not properly recorded in the aircraft's flight folio or airframe logbook. The investigation also noted that the pilot was operating in an agriculturally confined space, bounded by rows of trees, which contributed to the hazardous flight conditions.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the collision with electrical wires during the agricultural operation.
- The pilot failed to notice the electrical wires because they blended into the background environment.
- The aircraft was operating in a confined space near trees, which directed the flight path toward the wires.
- There were significant regulatory non-compliances regarding the maintenance of the rudder control system and the recording of maintenance work.
- The pilot was performing the spraying operation under supervision training and had not yet obtained the required agricultural crop spraying rating.
- The operator's flight operations manual requirements regarding pilot experience and training were not being met at the time of the accident.