- Date
- July 29, 1994, 17:30 local (Jul 30, 1994, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Royal City, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N81705WSK PZL Mielec M18S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 7, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940729019879A
- Case key
- 41991
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 inadequate remedial action. Factors include high density altitude and unfavorable winds.
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 stated that he began rolling down the runway on takeoff and everything seemed normal until he neared the end of the runway and couldn't get the airplane to fly. He dumped his load, but it was not enough the clear a hill at the end of the airstrip. An FAA inspector stated that a tailwind and 100 degree heat contributed to the inability of the airplane to clear the hill.
Factual narrative
On July 29, 1994, at 1730 Pacific daylight time, a Dromader M-18, N81705, collided with terrain after takeoff from a private dirt strip five miles east of Vantage, Washington. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial pilot was not injured.
After filling up with chemicals to spray on nearby fields, the pilot attempted to take off. An FAA inspector stated that a tailwind and 100+ heat prohibited the pilot from clearing a hill and the aircraft collided with the hill.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81705
- Reported as
- WSK PZL Mielec M18S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12020-17
- Airframe hours
- 1,542
- Engine
- Pzl-Kalisz ASZ-621R-M18, 967 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Brown Boy Aviation
- Registered owner
- Brown Boy Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 5, 1994 · 20 hours before
- Airport
- B&G Farms, runway 9, 2,400 × 75 ft, gravel
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,590 total · 200 in this make and model · 4,440 as pilot in command · 318 in the last 90 days · 125 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 100 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N81705 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.