N45CK

On June 3, 2006, about 1830 mountain daylight time, a North American SNJ-6, N45CK, sustained substantial damage when it struck a power line during cruise flight near American Falls, Idaho. Following the collision, the flight continued to its destination and landed without further incident. The commercial pilot and the passenger aboard were not injured. The airplane was registered to Rudy & Sylvia Airways LLC of San Diego, California, and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 cross country flight from Afton, Wyoming, to Jerome, Idaho. The flight departed Afton about 1734 and arrived in Jerome about 1855.

The pilot reported that it was cold at a cruise altitude of 8,500 feet msl, and he decided to descend to warmer altitudes. He descended to follow the Snake River. He checked his aeronautical chart and "didn't observe any charted power lines crossing on the segment of the river" that he was flying. He descended to "about 100 feet above the river" and followed the river. He saw three wooden poles and a crossbeam located along the edge of the river, did not see wires, but "made the immediate assumption that there were wires." He pulled up and heard a loud bang as the airplane struck the wires. He also saw a blue flash. After determining that the airplane was "able to continue safe flight," he made a decision to proceed to Jerome, where he was able to make a normal landing. The pilot examined the airplane and reported that the pitot mast was torn from the right wing tip, the leading edges of both outer wing panels were damaged, and there were two puncture holes in the fabric of the left aileron. The pilot stated that "there may have been many contributing factors to this accident but I simply should have had more altitude in order to avoid any possibility of a wire strike."