N40203

On July 15, 1993, at 0515 Mountain standard time, an Ayers Corporation S2R-T34, N40203, collided with power lines while engaged in aerial application maneuvers near Buckeye, Arizona. The aircraft was operated by Pierce Aviation of Buckeye, Arizona, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed in the obstacle and ground collision sequence. The certificated commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight originated from a dirt airstrip near the fields to be sprayed on the day of the mishap at about 0510 hours as a local aerial application flight.

The pilot said that after takeoff from the airstrip he over flew the fields to be sprayed checking for obstacles, then descended for the first swath run. At the end of the second field, the aircraft collided with a power line that the pilot said he did not see during the over flight. The pilot reported that the aircraft then went out of control and collided with the ground.

Utilizing a Safety Board computer program, the position of the sun was computed for the date, location and time of the accident. The sun was found to be 3.4 degrees below the horizon on a magnetic azimuth of 048.9 degrees. The accident occurred during the hours of civil twilight.