Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18B N7643J

Summary

On 3 July 2013 at about 12:05 local time, a Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18B registered N7643J, operated by Valley Air Service Inc, was involved in an accident near Caldwell, Idaho, 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

3 July 2013 at 12:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Caldwell, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Hubler Field Airport (ID00)

Coordinates

43.6975, -116.6444

Aircraft

Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18B

Registration

N7643J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Valley Air Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caldwell → Caldwell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA308

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper decision to continue the takeoff with a tailwind after he recognized a performance problem with the airplane and his delayed action to dump the chemical load.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, when he applied power for takeoff on an aerial application flight, the airplane seemed to accelerate normally until the tailwheel lifted off the ground. He adjusted the power lever forward, but the torque did not seem to increase. The pilot stated that, at that point, it was "unlikely" that the airplane would lift off the ground before it reached the end of the runway but that it was "too late to abort" the takeoff. The pilot advanced the power lever full forward and held it there. He then jettisoned the applicant load and simultaneously pulled back on the control stick. The main landing gear wheels lifted off the ground but the tailwheel did not. The airplane subsequently collided with a fence and came to rest in a river. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. An 8-knot tailwind existed at the time of the takeoff, which most likely resulted in the airplane's performance deficiency. The pilot further reported that "a more prompt recognition of the problem and an earlier decision to dump the load [of applicant] may possibly have prevented the aircraft from hitting the fence."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.