Krejci S-51D accident near Port St. Lucie, FL
On February 26, 2002, a Krejci S-51D (airplane) was involved in an accident near Port St. Lucie, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- February 26, 2002
- Place
- Port St. Lucie, FL
- Aircraft
- Krejci S-51D · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 27.495°N, 80.368°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020228X00280
Official records · ATL02LA055
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On February 26, 2002, about 1606 eastern standard time, a Krejci S-51D experimental airplane, N51KK, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while maneuvering after takeoff from Treasure Coast Airpark (FL37) Port St. Lucie, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. A witness who was a demo pilot for the S-51D, and a friend of the deceased pilot stated the pilot departed FL37 to the west. The landing gear was observed to retract. The airplane was observed to climb between 200 to 300 feet AGL and made a steep crosswind departure. The angle of bank was estimated between 45 to 50 degrees. The airplane entered into an accelerated stall. The left wing dropped and the nose pitched down. There was no change in engine power heard. The airplane was observed to recover from the stall and encountered a secondary stall. The airplane collided with the ground in a wings level, tail low condition. The witness stated the stall speed for the airplane in a clean configuration (gear and flaps up) is 80 mph and in the dirty configuration (gear and flaps down) is 70 mph. Other witnesses stated they heard the S-51D start up. They observed the airplane on the takeoff roll. They all heard a sound from the engine described as a " pop," "slight burp," "stumbling engine," "a slight miss" or "an engine sound similar to dropping a cylinder, like a belch." The sound smoothed
Probable cause
The pilots failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering in an attempt to return to landing area (Emergency/ departure airport.) This resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. Factor to the accident was a partial loss of engine power due to a failed exhaust valve.
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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.
