North American P51 accident near Fredericksburg, TX
On November 17, 2018, a North American P51 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fredericksburg, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- November 17, 2018
- Place
- Fredericksburg, TX
- Aircraft
- North American P51 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 30.275°N, 98.900°W
- NTSB ID
- 20181117X84920
Official records · CEN19FA028
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Memorandum for Record – Communication Summaries Faulkner, Morin, Gifford: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 17, 2018, about 1515 central standard time, a North American P-51D airplane, N4132A, was destroyed when it impacted an apartment parking lot while maneuvering near Fredericksburg, Texas. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to Pea Hochso LLC and was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which originated about 1459 from Gillespie County Airport (T82), Fredericksburg, Texas. The purpose of the flight was to perform a fly-over of a World War II educational presentation and reenactment. One witness reported that the airplane made a low-level pass and climbed out. As the airplane entered a right bank, it started to "drop." Trees blocked the witness's view and he "waited for the aircraft to climb out of the dive"; however, the airplane did not reappear from behind the trees. Another witness reported that, following a "very low" pass, the airplane entered a climb, then "all of a sudden he did a roll." The airplane made a slight turn, then entered a vertical nose-down attitude and disappeared from view. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe 73-year-old pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single- and multiengine land and instrument airplane. He also held an authorization to operate the P-51. On December 5, 2017, the pilot was issued a special issuance second
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to perform a low-level maneuver at an altitude where he was unable to recover the airplane before impacting terrain.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
Browse: Texas · North American aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
