Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Buckeye, Arizona 85326
Thursday, July 15, 1993 5:15 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that after takeoff from an adjacent airstrip he over flew the fields to be sprayed checking for obstacles, then descended for the first swath run. At the end of the second field, the aircraft collided with a power line that the pilot said he did not see during the over flight. The pilot reported that the aircraft then went out of control and collided with the ground. Utilizing a Safety Board computer program, the position of the sun was computed for the date, location and time of the accident. The sun was found to be 3.4 degrees below the horizon on a magnetic azimuth of 048.9 degrees. The accident occurred during the hours of civil twilight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to visually detect and avoid a power line. A factor in the accident was the twilight light condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/15/1993
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 515
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City BUCKEYE
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85326
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Dawn
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 26000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 942
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 15 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N40203
NTSB Number LAX93LA290
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Ayres
Aircraft Model S2R-T34
Aircraft Series Identifier S2R-T34
Aircraft Serial Number T34-020
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 55
Airframe Hours 6554
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AG AVIATION
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8603 S. HIGHWAY 85
Aircraft Owner City BUCKEYE
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85326
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name PIERCE AVIATION
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 607
Operator City BUCKEYE
Operator State AZ
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 85326
Operator Code ZFEG
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 510
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --