Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A DROMADER accident near Frogmore, Louisiana, September 23, 1993
On September 23, 1993, a Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A DROMADER, registered N452TC, was destroyed in an accident near Frogmore, Louisiana. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CLEARANCE WITH THE POWERLINE. A FACTOR WAS THE DUSK LIGHT CONDITION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 23, 1993
- Place
- Frogmore, Louisiana
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A DROMADER M-18A DROM
- Registration
- N452TC · no longer on the register · serial 1Z020-23
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT OF AN AGRICULTURAL AIRPLANE IMPACTED A POWERLINE AND TREES WHILE ON AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT APPROXIMATELY 23 MINUTES AFTER OFFICIAL SUNSET.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 1,400 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,400 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 1, 1993; 313 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6-45R (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Deer Park LA at 11:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from ESF, 47 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.