Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A N178RA

Summary

On 20 May 2000 at about 14:48 local time, a Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A registered N178RA was involved in an accident near Muskegon, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 May 2000 at 14:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Muskegon, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

43.2390, -86.2497

Aircraft

Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A

Registration

N178RA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nunica → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00FA139

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the trees. Factors relating to this accident were the low altitude and the trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.