Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate distance from a power line during low altitude flight operations, which resulted in an impact with the power line, and subsequent impact with the ground.
NTSB analysis
The pilot reported that during an agricultural application flight, he was making spray passes under a power line. During the last pass, the left wing of the airplane struck the power line, and the airplane descended and impacted the ground. The pilot exited the airplane, and a postcrash fire ensued.
The pilot reported that he believed he encountered a dust devil which caused the left wing to rise and contact the power line. About the time of the accident, a nearby weather reporting station was reporting, temperature 90 degrees Fahrenheit and wind from 120 degrees true at 4 knots.
The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA15CA266 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Sep 16, 2015
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Paxton, Nebraska
- Highest injury
- Minor
- Minor injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Schweizer Aircraft Corp G 164B
- N-number
- N3628Z
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1984
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 137 (agricultural)
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial application
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.