Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A N8214J

Summary

On 17 June 2004 at about 23:46 local time, a Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A registered N8214J, operated by Bureau of Land Management, Aviation Office, was involved in an accident near St. George, Utah, 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

17 June 2004 at 23:46

Classification

Accident

Location

St. George, Utah, United States

Coordinates

37.3261, -113.6225

Aircraft

Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A

Registration

N8214J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Bureau of Land Management, Aviation Office

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. George → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04GA243

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed margin, resulting in a stall and loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.