Aeronca O-58B N49546

Summary

On 5 June 1996 at about 21:40 local time, a Aeronca O-58B registered N49546 was involved in an accident near Greenville, South Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 June 1996 at 21:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Greenville, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

34.8499, -82.4008

Aircraft

Aeronca O-58B

Registration

N49546

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA96FA148

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from power lines while maneuvering at a low altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had flown into the area, picked up a passenger, and had just departed the airport when the airplane struck a power line that crossed over the lake he was flying over. The airplane then impacted the lake and sank. The passenger stated that the reason they were flying over the lake 'at such a low altitude,' was that they were 'just sightseeing...[and] did not see the wires.' A witness standing on the shore near the boat docks observed the airplane fly directly over his location, heading in a northwesterly direction. He stated that the airplane flew low over him and had cleared the tops of the trees by an estimated altitude of '1 to 200 feet.' After the airplane past over him and was heading away from him, over the lake, he said to another person 'I bet he didn't know about the power lines...since he was flying so low.' About that time the witness heard the airplane strike the wires. The witness further stated, '...in my opinion the aircraft was developing power and operating normally up until impact.' Examination of the airframe revealed a wire strike mark on the leading edge about mid-span of the left wing. Examination of the engine did not reveal any discrepancies. The wooden propeller was still attached to the crankshaft flange, but the tips of both blades were missing. A search was conducted on the bottom of the lake for the missing propeller blades, with negative results. The power lines in the vicinity of the crash site consisted of 8 cables supported by two towers located on both sides of the lake. The cables crossed the lake in an east-west direction. The bottom cables were about 50 feet above the lake, and the top cables were about 150 feet above the lake. The third cable from the top, had been repaired, and according to the police, the cable was broken before they had arrived at the crash site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.