Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Burns, Oregon 97720
Monday, July 26, 2004 13:26 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was attempting to climb following a fire retardant drop. When he moved the throttle forward, the engine did not respond. The airplane started loosing altitude, and the pilot performed a forced landing to an open plateau. During the landing, the throttle would not retard all the way. In order to land the airplane, the pilot turned the fuel selector to the off position. During the landing roll, the left wing impacted a fence pole bending ribs and wrinkling the aileron. Post accident examination revealed that the bolt normally connecting the throttle linkage clevis to the throttle arm was missing. The investigating team examined a sister aircraft from the same provider. They found that a nylon lock nut had been installed on the clevis bolt, and it was loose enough to be removed without the aid of any tools. The industry standard, found in FAA Advisory Circular AC43.13-1B, chapter 7, section 4, paragraph 7-64, states that nylon locking nuts should not be used with rotating components or assemblies. It further states that nylon and/or fiber nuts are highly susceptible to wear from repetitive use and from high heat applications.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The improper installation of the throttle linkage clevis to the throttle control arm by unknown maintenance personnel. Contributing factors were the nylon lock nut separating from its' bolt, which permitted the throttle cable to disconnect from the throttle control arm, and the fence post.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/26/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1326 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Burns |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97720 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 435110N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1191054W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1353 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BNO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4148 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 28 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 7564 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16633 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA NW ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 27 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1318 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 28 2004 10:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Boise, ID |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N495WP |
| NTSB Number | SEA04TA147 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | WSK PZL Mielec |
| Aircraft Model | M-18A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1Z0206 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 11700 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 22 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 32 |
| Airframe Hours | 3659 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Western Pilot Service Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2803 N. 7th Ave., suite 14 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Maricopa |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85007 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | United States Forest Service |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 626 East Wisconsin Ave. |
| Operator City | Milwaukee |
| Operator State | WI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 53202 |
| Operator Code | JWQG |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BNO |
| Departure City | Burns |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1300 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering - aerial application |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 24 2004 6:48PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |