Wsk Pzl Mielec M18B N4326M

Summary

On 15 July 1998 at about 04:10 local time, a Wsk Pzl Mielec M18B registered N4326M, operated by Hutchinson Spraying, Inc., was involved in an accident near Hingham, Montana, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 July 1998 at 04:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Hingham, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Hutchinson Private

Coordinates

48.5609, -110.4703

Aircraft

Wsk Pzl Mielec M18B

Registration

N4326M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hutchinson Spraying, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hingham → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

SEA98LA139

Nobody was injured.

Restricted aileron travel for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that in his landing attempt, the airplane bounced twice so he decided to go around. He stated that the aircraft then entered an uncommanded right roll, departed the airstrip to the right, and the right wing tip struck the ground. The pilot noted that the left-to-right movement of the control stick was stuck, and that he had applied great pressure on the stick to command a roll to the left. He said the control stick came unstuck and did move to the extreme left, but the aircraft did not respond and continued in its turn or roll to the right. He stated that he pulled the throttle back to idle; the aircraft began to settle to the ground while in this turning motion, went out of control and wrecked. Post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed both aileron bellcranks to be broken where they contacted the upper stops, with the right bellcrank locked in an aileron-up position. However, investigators found no evidence indicating fatigue failure when they inspected the bellcranks. The FAA investigator reported that the airplane had a total airframe time of 103 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.