SUMNER — A preliminary report from federal aviation safety officials says a crop duster involved in a fatal crash in northeastern Iowa hit power lines before going down on Aug. 9.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday says a witness told investigators that the airplane flew “very low” over his home early that morning and that he was “amazed it cleared the trees.”
The fiery crash near Sumner killed the pilot, 56-year-old David Baker, of Swedesburg.
The report doesn’t list a definitive cause of the crash, but says the plane hit a set of power lines about 40 feet high before hitting a second set of power lines, a roof mounted antenna and a utility pole before crossing Highway 93 and crashing into a tree.