- Date
- September 22, 1993, 19:20 local (Sep 23, 1993, 00:20 UTC)
- Place
- Frogmore, LA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N452TCWsk Pzl Mielec M-18A Dromader
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930922035919A
- Case key
- 18834
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the powerline. A factor was the dusk light condition.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot of an agricultural airplane impacted a powerline and trees while on an aerial application flight approximately 23 minutes after official sunset.
Factual narrative
On September 22, 1993, at approximately 1920 central daylight time, a Melex M-18A Dromader, N452TC, was destroyed during aerial application maneuvering near Frogmore, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial application flight.
The operations ground manager reported the aircraft missing at 1920, after the aircraft failed to return from a local aerial application flight at the Hamilton Farms, near Frogmore. After a brief search, the wreckage was located at 1930 in a cultivated field in a remote rural area. There were no witnesses to this accident.
The pilot survived the accident and was transported to the regional hospital for treatment, were he was reported in stable condition after surgery. He passed away two days later as result of complications from the injuries sustained. An autopsy and toxicological tests were not requested or performed.
The airplane was found in the inverted position with both wings separated from the airframe. Two trees were damaged and power lines were broken. The propeller assembly was found sheared at the propeller flange, with all four blades exhibiting S-bending and torsional twisting. The official sunset on the day of the accident occurred at 1857.
The wreckage was released to the owner's representative by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector at the accident site.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N452TC
- Reported as
- Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A Dromader (M-18A DROM)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1Z020-23
- Airframe hours
- 1,400
- Engine
- P&W PT6-45R, 1,173 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Braughton, Foster L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 1, 1993 · 313 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Deer Park, LA
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 1,400 in this make and model · 180 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ESF, 47 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.