N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Melville, North Dakota 58421
Friday, May 23, 2003 19:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft was substantially damaged following an in-flight collision with wires and, subsequently, the terrain during an aerial application pass. The pilot reported he got too close to a set of wires and they caught the wing. He stated that this collision took him over another set of wires and he subsequently impacted the ground. He reported no malfunctions with the aircraft or engine prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the wires. The low altitude operation and the wires were contributing factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Melville
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58421
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 472000N
Event Location Longitude 0990200W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID JMS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1498
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 14193
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 22 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2220
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA- Fargo FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4650W
NTSB Number CHI03LA134
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Weatherly
Aircraft Model 620A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1539
Certified Max Gross Weight 4000
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 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3673
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Foss & Meier Flight Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 774
Aircraft Owner City Devils Lake
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58301
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code CTIG
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 46D
Departure City Carrington
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1830
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2003 10:54AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --