N699PGPiper Aircraft PA 46-350P · 2013

The pilot reported that he was conducting a cross-country flight to an airport he had flown to a few days earlier. According to the pilot, during an approach his selected destination runway on the accident flight, his forward view was significantly obscured by a sun glare. He aligned the airplane to land on what he initially thought was the runway, which he later identified as an irrigation canal.

As the airplane descended toward the canal, the pilot observed high-tension transmission lines immediately ahead and at about the same altitude. He maneuvered the airplane in an aggressive descent in an attempt to fly under the powerlines. He reported feeling “a thud” and immediately increased power, retracted the landing gear and flaps, and maneuvered the airplane into a climb. The pilot ascertained the airplane was flying normally and decided to divert to a familiar airport about 16 miles away. As the airplane was on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane rolled aggressively to the left. In response, the pilot used aileron control inputs to compensate and landed the airplane without further incident.

After exiting the airplane, the pilot observed that the rudder and most of the vertical stabilizer were separated from the airplane. Local law enforcement located the missing airplane parts in the immediate vicinity of an impacted transmission line and observed a paint signature matching the airplane’s paint on one of the transmission lines. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder.

Surveillance video obtained from a nearby hospital with a view of the accident site captured the airplane flying at a low altitude, with the rudder and most of the vertical stabilizer missing. The surveillance video showed the airplane passing the transmission towers at about 17:53:30; ADS-B data also indicated the airplane passed the transmission towers at about 17:53:30. At that time, the sun’s azimuth was 267° and its elevation was slightly below the horizon at -1.19°. (See Figure 2).

The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.