ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44813
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| Date: | Thursday 17 June 2004 |
| Time: | 17:46 |
| Type: |  PZL-Mielec M-18A Dromader |
| Owner/operator: | New Frontier Aviation opf Bureau of Land Management |
| Registration: | N8214J |
| MSN: | 1Z020-21 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1500 hours |
| Engine model: | WSK PZL Kalis WSK-PZL-K |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | St. George, UT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Saint George Municipal Airport, UT (SGU/KSGU) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 17, 2004, at 1746 mountain daylight time, a WSK PZL Mielec (Dromader) M-18A, N8214J, collided with terrain following a fire retardant drop near St. George, Utah. New Frontier Aviation, Inc., owned the airplane. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U. S. Department of the Interior (DOI), was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 with a restricted category Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness certificate as a public-use fire suppression flight. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries; a post crash fire destroyed the airplane. The local flight departed St. George about 1730. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a BLM flight plan had been filed. The primary wreckage was at 37 degrees 19.562 minutes north latitude and 113 degrees 36.818 minutes west longitude at an estimated elevation of 5,900 feet.
Following a fire retardant drop, the airplane pitched nose up about 10 degrees, and then the nose dropped down 45 degrees, and the airplane descended into the ground. Drop altitude was about 100 feet above ground level (agl), and the ground sloped down about 20 degrees throughout the drop zone. The pilot made one practice dry run at his request. On the second pass, the pilot told the tactical air controller that he overshot final, and was going around. On the third pass, the pilot called downwind, base, and final. The pilot made no other transmissions, and did not indicate that he was having any problems. Witnesses saw the retardant exit the airplane; however, the drop was not at the desired point, and not distributed in an even line as the pilot's previous drops had been. The drop angled about 10 degrees to the final approach course. The drop pattern was wide and heavy at the beginning, and narrow and thin at the end. This indicated that the pilot initiated the drop early while turning onto final. About 2 seconds after the drop, the nose of the airplane pitched up slightly, which was normal after a drop. The nose of the airplane then pitched down about 45 degrees. The airplane maintained this attitude until ground impact. A prominent bend of the propeller shaft and a twist in the vertical splines indicated that the engine was generating high power. Post flight examination of the wreckage did not reveal any anomalies with the flight control system. Stall speeds with vortex generators installed varied from 73 mph in the clean configuration to 72 mph with full flaps. Drop techniques, airspeed, and flap settings varied among Dromadier pilots. Some pilots flew at airspeeds of 85 to 90 mph to lesson the pitch up on pull out. The M-18 operator's manual indicated that, with the sudden shift in CG at retardant release, the airplane would pitch up, and airspeed could decrease as much as 12 mph.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed margin, resulting in a stall and loss of control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040712X00952&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 15 July 1997 | EC-EVG | Tratamientos Aéreos | 1 | Illana (Guadalajara) |  |
w/o |
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 18:04 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Nov-2022 03:19 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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