NTSB Factual Report

On February 28, 2001, approximately 1515 hours Pacific standard time, a Grumman/Schweizer G-164A agricultural aircraft, N48651, registered to Cropland Air Service, Inc., and being flown by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during a collision with power lines and terrain while maneuvering approximately six nautical miles southwest of Waitsburg, Washington. The pilot sustained minor injuries and a post-crash fire consumed the aircraft. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was dispensing fertilizer, was operated under 14CFR137, and originated from a private airstrip approximately two miles east of Waitsburg, Washington, approximately 1445 hours.

The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that he was aware of a set of Bonneville power lines running east-west but lost sight of them at the completion of a northbound swath run. During the pull-up maneuver the aircraft impacted the unmarked wires severing all three cables and separating the aircraft's entire top wing from the fuselage. The aircraft continued to the north impacting hilly terrain, nosing over and then catching fire (refer to photograph 1).

The pilot further reported (NTSB Form 6120.1/2 attached) that "I entered the field and began spreading fertilizer and lost sight of the power lines in the hillside behind them. I started pulling out and struck three wires."

Terrain at the site gradually sloped uphill from the south to the north, and daylight conditions with no restrictions to visibility existed at the time of the accident. The FAA inspector reported that the pilot was wearing corrective lenses at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the power lines during a pull-up, resulting in an in-flight collision with the lines, loss of control and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. Contributing factors were the power lines and the pilot's degraded visual detection due to the background terrain.