Aviation safety investigations & reports
Piper PA28/140 Cherokee, VH-PTD, Narromine, NSW, 24 September 1970
Investigation number:
197001296
197001296
Status: Completed

Summary
The pilot, who was the general manager of the irrigation property on which the accident occurred, and his
passenger, who was the farm manager of the same property, were on an inspection flight to observe
accumulations of water from recent rain.
The aircraft circled and manoeuvred over various sections of the property at a height of about 500 feet for
approximately fifteen minutes and was then seen to make a shallow descent towards the homestead buildings.
It flew towards a position where two employees were working adjacent to the property workshop and at a
height of some 28 feet while still approaching the workshop area, it struck power cables. The forward
movement of the aircraft was retarded, it nosed up steeply, then rolled to the left and dived to the ground
steeply nose down. Several seconds after impact, the aircraft burst into flames and was completely
destroyed by fire.
General details
Date: | 24 September 1970 | Investigation status: | Completed | ||
Time: | 1507 EST | ||||
Location: | Narromine | ||||
State: | New South Wales | Occurrence type: | Wirestrike | ||
Release date: | 22 March 1971 | Occurrence category: | Accident | ||
Report status: | Final | Highest injury level: | Fatal |
Aircraft details
Aircraft manufacturer | Piper Aircraft Corp | |
---|---|---|
Aircraft model | PA-28 | |
Aircraft registration | VH-PTD | |
Serial number | 159 | |
Type of operation | Private | |
Departure point | Narromine | |
Departure time | 1450 | |
Destination | Narromine |