On December 29, 1996, at 1115 hours Pacific standard time, a Grumman American AA-5A, N9944U, collided with high tension power lines in a canyon area near Banning, California. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was on a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damaged. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant sustained minor injuries. The flight originated from Redlands, California, on the day of the accident at 1030. The pilot told responding Banning city police officers that he was flying to the Banning airport to refuel when the engine began to sputter. He further stated that he was in the process of changing fuel tanks and did not see the high tension power lines. The police officers reported that the accident site was in a canyon in the foothills north of the city. The power lines struck by the aircraft hang below the elevation of the canyon ridges where the towers are located. The lines are not marked. Several ground witnesses, including an off-duty Banning police sergeant, reported that they observed the aircraft flying low in the canyons near the accident site for at least a 15-minute period before the aircraft collided with power lines. The police officers at the accident site reported that they were concerned because fuel was leaking from both fuel tanks and posed a threat to a nearby stream.