History of Flight
On February 15, 2013, about 1710 central standard time, N4305D, a PZL Mielec M-18A single-engine airplane, was substantially damaged when it impacted the guy wire for a radio tower southeast of Jennings, Louisiana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Riceland Aviation, Inc. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The aerial application flight was being conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 without a flight plan. The local flight had departed about 1650 from Jennings Airport (3R7), Jennings, Louisiana.
The pilot was applying the herbicide Round Up to a rice field southeast of 3R7. The wreckage was found near a radio tower in a field where the airplane had been conducting aerial applications. Examination of the radio tower revealed damage to the number 7 and 8 guy wires on the east side.
Satloc data recovered from the accident airplane showed multiple spray passes near the tower. The last two minutes depicted a spray path from north to south, a right turn to the west, then a course reversal to the east. The flight path showed the airplane just south of the tower, with a southwest-to-northeast track; the recorded descent was consistent with an approach for the next spray pass to the north. Altitude increased at the field end and the airplane reversed course again, turning south then right back north for a second pass along the same course. The airplane had just initiated a descent for the southwest-to-northeast pass when the recording ended.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 52, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single- and multiengine land ratings and a second-class medical certificate issued February 28, 2012, with the limitation "must have available glasses for near vision." According to the operator, the pilot had logged 19,325 total flight hours, with 10,627 hours in the accident make and model. He completed a flight review on September 19, 2011. He had not attended formal training for agricultural operations, obtaining knowledge through on-the-job training. He attended PAASS training in 2013 and held a Louisiana chemical applicator license.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane, a PZL Mielec M18-A (serial number 1Z022-19), was manufactured in 1991. It held an FAA special airworthiness certificate for restricted agriculture and pest control operations. It was powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65B turboprop engine with a four-blade Hartzell propeller. The airplane was maintained under an annual inspection program; a 100-hour inspection was completed on October 11, 2012, at an airframe total time of 6,999 hours.
Meteorological Information
The closest weather observation station was Jennings Airport (3R7), 3.5 nautical miles northwest of the accident site. The METAR issued at 1715 reported wind 360° at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 7,000 feet, temperature 17°C, dew point 5°C, altimeter 30.11 inches of mercury. Sunset was at 1759 CST, end of civil twilight at 1823 CST.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located in a dry rice field just northeast of the radio tower at an elevation of 15 feet mean sea level. A small piece of the left wing was wrapped around one guy wire. Torn and bent metal from the left wing and its outboard section were found below the east tripod of guy wires. Damage to the inboard left wing at the separation point was consistent with a wire strike. The main wreckage, including the inboard left wing, right wing, empennage, and engine, came to rest just north of the east tripod. Spray booms, propeller assembly, and bent metal were in a short debris field adjacent to the main wreckage. Examination of the airframe, engine, and related systems revealed no anomalies.
Additional Information
The radio tower, owned by Global Tower Partners, was in the northwest corner of the target field. It was guyed by eight wires in a tripod configuration, stood about 480 feet tall, and was painted red and white. It was depicted on the Houston VFR Sectional Chart as a cluster of two towers southeast of Jennings. The tower was marked per FAA Advisory Circular 70/7460-1K and FCC regulations. According to Riceland Aviation, the pilot was familiar with the field and had flown it at least 15 times in the previous spray season. No ground crews were present; it appeared the pilot had finished spraying and was "dressing up around the tower."
Flight Recorders
The airplane was equipped with a Hemisphere AgJunction Satloc G4 control system for chemical application, providing lightbar guidance and a moving map display. The unit was sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Lab. Log files dated January 8 to February 15, 2013, were downloaded. The last recording, including the accident flight, lasted over two hours and was not corrected for local time.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the Calcasieu Parish Coroner's Office on February 16, 2013, concluded the cause of death was multiple injuries sustained in an airplane crash. Toxicological tests by the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute were negative for carbon monoxide and ethanol; urine tested positive for 40.8 µg/ml of salicylate (aspirin metabolite).