Holt THORPE T-18C accident near Imperial, TX
On October 4, 2000, a Holt THORPE T-18C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Imperial, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 4, 2000
- Place
- Imperial, TX
- Aircraft
- Holt THORPE T-18C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 31.271°N, 102.689°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X22156
NTSB summary
On October 4, 2000, at 1400 central daylight time, a Holt Thorpe T-18C amateur-built experimental airplane, N85LH, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following an in-flight separation of a propeller blade near Imperial, Texas. The private pilot, who was the registered owner of the airplane, and his passenger, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from the Roy Hurd Memorial Airport, Monahans, Texas, approximately 1345. According to witnesses, the airplane was in cruise flight southwest bound, between 1,500 and 2,500 feet agl, when they heard a loud noise and observed pieces of the airplane separate from the airframe. Subsequently, the airplane entered a descent and impacted the ground. A fire erupted and consumed the airplane. The FAA inspector, who examined the airplane, reported that the airplane was equipped with a Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine and a Hartzell HC-F2YR-1F, 2-bladed, constant speed propeller. Sections of the engine cowling were located approximately 1 mile northeast of the accident site. Further examination revealed that one of the two propeller blades (part number F8468A-6R) had fractured and a portion was missing. The missing portion of the blade was not recovered. The propeller was disassembled and the fractured blade was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C for further examination. The NTSB metallurgist reported that the blade fractured 14.5 inches from the butt end. The fracture s
Probable cause
the failure of the propeller blade due to fatigue, which originated from a corrosion crack. A contributory factor was the pilot/owner's failure to ensure that the propeller was overhauled at the manufacturer's recommended interval.
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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.
