Wirestrike involving a Piper PA-25-235, VH-ALD, 16 km south of Ardlethan (ALA), New South Wales, on 23 October 1996

The Piper Pawnee aircraft was conducting spraying operations on a property. The landowner had provided a map of the treatment area, and the pilot had conducted an in-flight inspection. Spray runs were to be conducted at right angles to a powerline running along the boundary of the area to be treated, with the aircraft climbing over the powerline before carrying out a procedure turn and descending to commence another run.

The aircraft was fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide track guidance to the pilot during the spray runs. The pilot reported that during the initial spray runs his attention was drawn to the GPS Marking System due to alignment errors. Following the procedure turn after the fifth spray run, the pilot reported he momentarily forgot about the presence of the powerline and descended into it. The landing gear snagged the wire, causing the aircraft to lose airspeed and strike the ground in an almost level attitude. The left wing and fuselage were damaged during the ensuing ground run. The pilot, who was wearing a full harness, was unhurt.  An Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) was not fitted to the aircraft.