Collision with terrain involving a Cessna A188B/A1, VH-DDW, Jandowea, Queensland, on 12 February 1998

The aircraft was conducting spraying operations in a paddock bounded by a power line. Due to the nearness of the paddock to the power line, it was necessary for the pilot to fly the aircraft under the line at the commencement of each spray run. At the beginning of the accident run, the pilot rolled the aircraft right to clear a small tree. As he did this, the left wing contacted the power line. The aircraft then rolled inverted and struck the ground left wing first, cartwheeling several times before coming to rest inverted. The pilot was able to exit the aircraft before fire consumed the majority of the wreckage.

The pilot confirmed that the aircraft was operating normally at the time of the accident. While maneuvering to avoid the small tree, he had momentarily forgotten about the power line and did not correct quickly enough to prevent the wing contacting it.