N9537J

On September 24, 1996, at 1428 central daylight time, a Cessna T188C, N9537J, registered to AAA Flying Service Inc., of McAllen, Texas, and operated by James. R. Davis of Seminole, Texas, under Title 14 CFR Part 137 contracted as a public use aircraft with the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc., struck a pole while maneuvering near Snyder, Texas. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local aerial application flight and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated 1 hour and 18 minutes before the accident.

During telephone interviews, conducted by the investigator-in-charge, the pilot, operator, and witnesses reported the following information. The weather was overcast with haze in the area. The pilot, watching for wires at the entrance area to the field, saw the transmission wires, and nosed the airplane over to clear the wires; however, the left wing had "blanked out a pole and he dove into the pole."

The pilot observed that the left wing was damaged and the left aileron was gone from the airplane. The pilot was able to maintain level flight by applying full right aileron and up elevator as he flew the airplane to the Winston Field Airport at Snyder, Texas. During the landing flare/touchdown on runway 35, the pilot who "thought he had it made and pulled the power off" lost control of the airplane as the power was reduced and the airplane veered to the left with the left wing striking the ground. The airplane cartwheeled, came to stop in an upright position, and a post impact fire erupted in the area of the engine fuel lines. Witnesses extinguished the fire.

The FAA inspector and the pilot obtained the flight path from the on board Satloc GPS Guidance System and went to the field where they located the missing left wing components. The left wing tip, aileron, and several feet of the wing were located adjacent to a downed powerline pole. Paint transfer was found on the pole.

A review of the maintenance records by the FAA inspector and the investigator-in-charge did not reveal any open discrepancies.