NTSB Identification: CEN12CA544
14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Wednesday, August 15, 2012 in Kaplan, LA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/26/2012
Aircraft: Schweizer, N36289 G-164B, registration: N36289
Injuries: 1 Serious.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot was conducting an aerial application flight at the time of the accident. During the spray application, the airplane struck a power line. The airplane nosed over and impacted the ground. A postaccident examination of the wreckage found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from power lines during the aerial application flight.
According to the operator's accident report, the pilot was conducting an aerial application flight on a field about 3-1/2 miles from the airstrip. He had previously dispersed 4 loads of fertilizer on the field. During the application of the fifth load, the airplane struck an 80 to 90 foot-tall power line. The airplane nosed over and impacted the ground. The pilot was seriously injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.
Photographs taken at the accident site revealed no markers on the power line. An FAA inspector found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal aircraft operation.
Sheriff Couvillon says that the Sheriff’s Office received a call from 911 at approximately 11:41 a.m. and says that the plane went down in a field located at the intersection of Wildflower Road and Ward Road in the community of LeLeux.
Sheriff Couvillon says that the pilot was responsive when deputies and medical personnel arrived on scene, and indicated that his plane clipped a power line in the field causing the plane to crash.
Sheriff Couvillon further stated that the Federal Aviation Administration has been contacted, to conduct an investigation as to the cause of the plane crash.
According to witnesses the plane that went down north of Kaplan did hit power lines. According to SLEMCO, 1,500 people are without power in Vermilion Parish from the Lyons Point substation. SLEMCO does not know how long power will be out but they are working to repair the damage.
ABBEVILLE, La. — The pilot of a crop duster has been seriously injured when his plane went down in a field in the northwestern part of Vermilion Parish.
Sheriff Mike Couvilon said his office received a call about 11:41 a.m. Wednesday about a plane crash in a field at the intersection of Wildflower Road and Ward Road in the community of LeLeux.
Couvilon says the pilot was responsive when deputies and emergency medical personnel arrived. The sheriff says the pilot indicated his plane clipped a power line in the field, causing the crash.
Couvilon says the Federal Aviation Administration has been notified and will conduct its own investigation into the crash.
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