Classic Aircraft Corp. S-51D accident near Tamarac, FL
On May 20, 1999, a Classic Aircraft Corp. S-51D (airplane) was involved in an accident near Tamarac, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 20, 1999
- Place
- Tamarac, FL
- Aircraft
- Classic Aircraft Corp. S-51D · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 26.191°N, 80.170°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X18835
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 20, 1999, about 1405 eastern daylight time, a Classic Aircraft Corporation S-51D homebuilt airplane, N25VV, registered to Classic Aircraft Corporation, impacted with the terrain during a forced landing near Tamarac, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. No flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The airline transport-rated pilot was fatally injured. The flight had departed the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 1351. The purpose of this flight was to accumulate the 40 hours of flight time on the airplane required before certification (at the time of the accident the airframe had a total of 3 hours). Before this flight the pilot had flown the airplane that morning for about 1.2 hours. After landing, the airplane was refueled, and shut down for an unknown period of time. After restarting the engine the pilot taxied the airplane to the active runway, and was delayed in taking off due to traffic. After takeoff, the flight headed west and was about 11 nautical miles west of the airport, when the pilot radioed the control tower that he was having a problem raising the landing gear and he wanted to return to the airport. The airplane was identified on radar as being at an altitude of 1,300 feet, and heading westbound. The pilot radioed that he had lost the engine. Radar and radio contact was lost shortly thereafter. A witness in the area said, "...a small plane flew over head...directly over head I heard his engines begin to sputter, cutting on and off
Probable cause
A complete loss of engine power caused by the malfunctioning landing gear, which blocked the radiator scoop, leading to increased fuel temperature and the subsequent vapor lock condition and fuel blockage. A secondary cause was the pilot's failure to maintain flying speed resulting in the subsequent stall/mush
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
