North American F-51D accident near Malone, NY
On July 2, 1995, a North American F-51D (airplane) was involved in an accident near Malone, NY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 2, 1995
- Place
- Malone, NY
- Aircraft
- North American F-51D · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 44.840°N, 74.290°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001207X04043
NTSB summary
On July 2, 1995, at 1445 eastern daylight time, a North American F-51D, N51KF, struck the ground in Malone, New York. The airplane was destroyed, and the airline transport pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight, which operated under 14 CFR Part 91, and had departed the Malone Airport, about 10 minutes earlier. The airplane was part of an airshow at the Malone Airport. The accident pilot was the lead airplane of two F-51s. After the 2nd pass, the airplane was observed to perform a right turn of 90 degrees. This was to be followed by a left turn of 270 degrees, to reverse course for another flyby; however, as the bank increased to near 90 degrees, the nose dropped, and the airplane disappeared from view while rotating to the right. The wingman reported that he did not notice anything unusual with the accident pilot prior to departure, or during the flight prior to the accident. An FAA Operations Inspector reported that he rode in the airplane with the pilot, on the morning July 2, 1995, and did not observe any problems with the airplane or pilot. Additionally, he heard the pilot order the airplane to be filled to capacity with fuel (topped off) prior to flying the airshow routine. No emergency communications were received from the accident pilot by the wingman in flight, or on the ground, by either the airshow coordinator, or the FAA Inspector, who were together. In a written report, the FAA Inspector stated: ...The crash site was approximately 1.5 statute miles southwest of Malone Airport,
Probable cause
the pilot's improper use of the flight controls, which resulted in an accelerated stall, an in-flight loss of control, and an uncontrolled descent to the ground. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's decision to fly the airplane in an airshow environment without completing an entire checkout program.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
