What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Aircraft flagger jammed in flight during aerial application. Attempted to land on road. Aircraft slid into a ditch. (-23) on June 30, 1996, at 0930 MDT, a Cessna A118B, N21744, operated by a commercial rated pilot was substantially damaged during a landing on a black top road. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, as reported by the pilot. The 14 CFR part 137 flight was operating as an aerial application flight when the flagger system jammed, then attempted to land to investigate the cause of the failure of the flagger. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated at watford city, ND.
As the FAA filed it
AIRCRAFT FLAGGER JAMMED IN FLIGHT DURING AERIAL APPLICATION. ATTEMPTED TO LAND ON ROAD. AIRCRAFT SLID INTO A DITCH. (-23) ON JUNE 30, 1996, AT 0930 MDT, A CESSNA A118B, N21744, OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL RATED PILOT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A LANDING ON A BLACK TOP ROAD. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, AS REPORTED BY THE PILOT. THE 14 CFR PART 137 FLIGHT WAS OPERATING AS AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WHEN THE FLAGGER SYSTEM JAMMED, THEN ATTEMPTED TO LAND TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE OF THE FLAGGER. THE PILOT REPORTED NO INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT WATFORD CITY, ND.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.