# Accident 19990525005649A: Wsk PZLM18B, Altus, OK, May 25, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 25, 1999, 17:20 local time - Place: Altus, OK - Airport: Sheffield-Smith Airstrip Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll - Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137) - Operator: PT9G - Location: 34.6399° N, 99.3105° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.6399&lon=-99.3105&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8199W, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8199W) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Wsk-Pzl Meilec PZL M18B (registry code 9810125, https://openairdocs.org/model/wsk-pzl-meilec-pzl-m18b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Wsk-Pzl-K PZL ASZ-62IR (registry code 67203, https://openairdocs.org/engine/wsk-pzl-k-pzl-asz-62ir) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: WSK PZLM18B - Reported engine: WSK ASZ621RM18 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 2,917 total, 50 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99FA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA086) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990525005649A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES DURING AERIAL APPLICATION, THE PILOT/SOLE OCCUPANT SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, THE ACFT HAS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN.(.19) ON MAY 25, 1999, APPROXIMATELY 1720 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A PZL-MIELEC M18A (DROMADER), N8199W, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED FOLLOWING A POWER LOSS DURING TAKEOFF FROM SHEFFIELD-SMITH AIRSTRIP, ALTUS, OKLAHOMA. THE COMMERICAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED BY THE PILOT AND OPERATED BY PITTS AG FLYING, INC., UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 137. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WHICH WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. ACCORDING TO A WITNESS, THE "AIRPLANE'S TAKEOFF ROLL APPEARED LONGER THAN NORMAL." HE SAID THAT HE "SAW A WHITE PLUME AS THE AIRPLANE DUMPED ITS LOAD, AND THEN IT NOSED OVER AND HIT THE GROUND." THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST INVERTED, CRUSHING THE VERTICAL STABILIZER AND THE COCKPIT CANOPY. (.4)THE DROMADER WAS DEPARTING FROM AN 1,800 FOOT RUNWAY WITH A 250 FOOT OVERRUN. THE AIRPLANE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 273 POUNDS OVERWEIGHT, AND THE DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS 3,244 FEET. THE PILOT HAD SET HIS FLAPS AT 9 DEGREES, ALTHOUGH OTHER OPERATORS OF THE DROMADER RECOMMENDED 15 TO 20 DEGREES OF FLAPS FOR HEAVY GROSS WEIGHT TAKEOFFS. THE MANUFACTURER'S PERFORMANCE CHARTS INDICATE THAT 1,800 FEET IS NEEDED FOR A 10 DEGREE FLAP TAKEOFF UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. A WITNESS SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE WAS RUNNING SMOOTHLY, BUT THE GROUND RUN APPEARED UNUSUALLY LONG, AND HE SAW IT HIT A SMALL EARTHEN BERM AT LIFTOFF. HE SAID THE AIRPLANE POPPED UP, THEN DOWN, UP AGAIN, AND THEN NOSED OVER ONTO ITS BACK. THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND WITH ITS LEFT MAIN WHEEL SEPARATED, THE CREW COMPARTMENT COLLAPSED, THE GATE BOX (DUMP DOORS) CLOSED, AND APPROXIMATELY 510 GALLONS OF APPLICANT IN THE HOPPER. THE ENGINE WAS TEST RUN IN ITS FUSELAGE AND OPERATED NORMALLY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A 'POPPING' NOISE HEARD ON ITS FOURTH RUN. TWO EXHAUST VALVES WERE FOUND HEAT BLUED, AND ONE OF THE VALVES HAD A RUB MARK DOWN ITS STEM SUGGESTING THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN STUCK ON SOME OCCASION. (-23)AIRCRAFT WAS ON TAKEOFF WITH APPROXIMATELY 520 GALLONS OF CHEMICAL ON BOARD. EYE WITNESS STATED THAT "THE AIRPLANE ROLL APPEARED LONGER THAN NORMAL." THE WITNESS SAW THE PILOT DUMP HIS LOAD THEN THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND AND NOSED OVER. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST INVERTED CRUSHING THE VERTICAL STABILIZER AND THE COCKPIT CANOPY. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB DEN99FA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA086), May 25, 1999: PZL-Mielec M-18B (N8199W), Altus, OK, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's disregard of takeoff performance data and his failure to jettison the load. Contributing factors were high density altitude, exceeding the aircraft's maximum allowable gross weight, and… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.