Fairchild PT-19A N58123

Summary

On 14 April 2001 at about 19:51 local time, a Fairchild PT-19A registered N58123, operated by Confederate Airforce, was involved in an accident near Midland, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 April 2001 at 19:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Midland, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Midland International Airport (MAF)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Fairchild PT-19A

Registration

N58123

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Confederate Airforce

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01FA100

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertant stall during initial takeoff climb. A contributing factor was wind gusts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While climbing out after takeoff, the vintage airplane was observed by several witnesses to execute a climbing right turn, roll left, and then abruptly nose down to impact. The passenger stated that a "downdraft hit" the airplane, and it "nosed" into the ground at a "ninety degree" angle. He heard the engine running throughout the flight. Post-accident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies with the airframe, flight controls, and engine. The wind at the time of the accident was from 250 degrees at 9 knots gusting to 18 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.