- Date
- July 8, 1997, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Clewiston, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N82019Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970708046929A
- Case key
- 38309
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
a forced landing as a result of an undetermined loss of engine power and subsequent impact with a railroad switching unit and nose over.
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 airplane departed from a section of road which was about 3,000 feet long. At an altitude of about 50 feet above the ground, in a left turn to the crosswind, the pilot reported that the airplane's engine lost power, and was running rough. A forced landing was made to a sugar cane field. The pilot maneuvered the airplane and touched down in the sugar cane field, the propeller struck a railroad switching unit, crossed over an irrigation canal, struck the bank of the canal with the tail wheel, nosed over, and a postcrash fire ensued. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the post crash fire melted the accessory case of the engine, post-crash testing of the engine was not possible. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.
Factual narrative
On July 8, 1997, about 1030 eastern standard time, a WSK PZL Mielec M-18A, N82019, registered to Air Crop Care Inc., crashed during a forced landing near Clewiston, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight. The commercial-rated pilot reported minor injuries. The airplane was destroyed. The flight had originated at the Belle Glade Municipal Airport, Clewiston, Florida.
The airplane departed from a section of road which was about 3,000 feet long. At an altitude of about 50 feet above the ground, in a left turn to the crosswind, the pilot reported that the airplane's engine lost power, and was running rough. The pilot maneuvered the airplane, touched down in the sugar cane field, the propeller struck a railroad switching unit, crossed over an irrigation canal, struck the bank of the canal with the tail wheel, nosed over, and a postcrash fire ensued.
According to the FAA inspector, examination of the wreckage revealed that the post crash fire melted the left wing root, the left main landing gear mount and the accessory case of the engine, "...it...[was]...deemed impractical to attempt to salvage the engine for run and post-crash testing." The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82019
- Reported as
- Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1Z026-03
- Engine
- WSK PZL Kalis ASZ-62IR-M-18, 986 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Air Crop Care
- Registered owner
- Lti Vehical Leasing Corp
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 1997
- Departed
- X10 · Belle Glade, FL
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 800 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 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.