ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 38967
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| Date: | Saturday 20 May 2000 |
| Time: | 10:48 |
| Type: |  PZL-Mielec M-18A Dromader |
| Owner/operator: | Hatfield Spraying Service, Inc |
| Registration: | N178RA |
| MSN: | 1Z015-10 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3258 hours |
| Engine model: | Pezetel ASZ-621R-M18 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Muskegon, MI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Nunica, MI (33C) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A witness and her husband watched the airplane head southbound, make a 'U-turn' and head north toward her location. The witness said she heard the engine. 'There was no engine trouble. It sounded as if it were under full power. It was not sputtering. It sounded okay.' The witness said that as the airplane crossed the street in front of her house, 'it got caught in the tree tops, and went into the woods.' The husband said that he saw the airplane 'head south, then turn west, and then north (making a U-turn) over my residence ... The plane sounded normal, but appeared to be lower in the air than in previous passes in the area.' Approximately 50 feet north of his house, the husband said, 'the bottom of the plane began brushing the tree tops. I observed and heard the plane diving through the trees before it crashed to the ground. Approximately 30 seconds later, the plane burst into flames.' According to the airplane owner, the accident airplane was one of five airplanes contracted by the State of Michigan, to spray for Gypsy moths in the area north of Muskegon, Michigan. The airplane had been flown two previous times that day. An examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies.
Probable Cause: the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the trees. Factors relating to this accident were the low altitude and the trees.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20010505X00886&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 23 August 1997 | N178RA | Hatfield Spraying Service, Inc | 0 | Coopersville, MI | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Dec-2017 18:45 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
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