The Air Tractor pilot was spraying a corn field near Cimarron, Kansas, bordered by radio antennas.
He had sprayed the field previously and planned to use the same pattern this time. However, on his initial pass, he focused on the inner guy wire anchor point, which caused him to inadvertently fly between the inner and outer guy wires.
When he started to pull-up, the plane struck the outer wire, separating 7 feet of the left wing from the airplane.
The pilot was able to maintain control and ultimately returned to the departure airport.
However, the airplane rolled to the left when he reduced power on landing and he lost control at that time.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as yhe pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from the antenna guy wire during an aerial application pass.
NTSB Identification: CEN14CA427
This August 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
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