Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Burns, Oregon 97720
Saturday, July 7, 2007 19:16 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane conducted three retardant drop missions in support of a wild fire suppression prior to the accident. During the fourth drop while overflying the intended drop zone at 1,500 feet above ground level, the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine, but was not successful. Subsequently, the pilot jettisoned the retardant load, made an emergency radio call, and attempted a forced landing to a field with high vegetation and uneven terrain. The airplane touched down, skidded approximately 100 feet, and came to rest in an upright attitude. Examination of the fuel system did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation prior to the impact with terrain. The engine was operated in a test cell. During the test cell operation, the engine exceeded the 1,000 shaft horsepower rating and was free of surge and operated normally during transient power demands. No pre-existing conditions that would have precluded normal engine operation were noted. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/7/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1916
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Burns
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97720
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 434048N
Event Location Longitude 1192554W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID BNO
Elevation of weather observation facility 4148
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25957
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 15 2009 12:56PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO Portland, OR

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N92043
NTSB Number LAX07TA208
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Public Use
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
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 1Z026-01
Certified Max Gross Weight 11700
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Taylor Aviation, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Fort Benton
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59442
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name U.S. Forest Service
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Hines
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97738
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Fire Fighting
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 1903
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BNO
Destination City Burns
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 10 2008 1:14PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --