Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A accident near Beedeville, Arkansas, July 16, 1996
On July 16, 1996 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A, registered N163RA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Beedeville, Arkansas (Private airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 16, 1996 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Beedeville, Arkansas · Private · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A
- Registration
- N163RA · no longer on the register · serial 1Z015-16
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during the morning he had flown '10 to 15 loads' off the 2,542-foot dirt airstrip with 'no problems.' He further reported that 'upon becoming airborne and flying approximately 300 feet, the front wheels touched the rice that was planted across the gravel road (due north) from the airstrip.' Contact with the rice 'caused the loss of airspeed.' The airplane struck a rice field levee, nosed over, and came to rest inverted.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 7,899 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 350 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 7,815 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 10, 1995
- Maximum gross weight: 9,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pzl-Kalisz ASZ-621R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,542 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
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.