North American SNJ-5 N2686D
25 August 2001 · Raton, New Mexico, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 25 August 2001 at about 01:30 local time, a North American SNJ-5 registered N2686D was involved in an accident near Raton, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 01:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Raton, New Mexico, United States
- Nearest airport
- Raton Municipal/Crews Field (RTN)
- Coordinates
- 36.8806, -104.4405
- Aircraft
- North American SNJ-5
- Registration
- N2686D
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Raton → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- DEN01FA152
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
a nonmechanical total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons while performing an aerobatic maneuver, and an inadvertent stall. A contributing factor was the insuffieient altitude to effect a safe recovery.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
Pilot-witnesses said the pilot was performing low-level aerobatics. As he pulled up into a near-vertical attitude he radioed, "My engine just quit." Smoke was seen coming from the engine cowling. The airplane appeared to do a tail slide, then it rolled left and nosed over. Witnesses surmised that the airplane stalled with insufficient altitude to recover. It struck the ground in a left wing-low, nose-low attitude. Wreckage was spread in a fan-shaped pattern. The pilot's wife (and his aerobatic partner) believed he was making a "yo-yo turn...essentially, a steep wingover." To test her theory, she later flew her airplane and performed several of these maneuvers. She found that she could cause the engine to quit by pulling up steeply, then pushing over into a dive for several seconds. Power would suddenly surge to 2,500 rpm. The pilot's wife surmised that the engine failed when he pulled up. As he recovered, the engine regained power and surged, and the resultant torque caused the airplane to roll. No anomalies were noted during the engine disassembly and inspection.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other North American SNJ-5 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 2001 | North American SNJ-5 | Mesa, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Apr 2000 | North American SNJ-5 | Elk Park, North Carolina, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 3 Sep 2000 | North American SNJ-5 | Steamboat Spg, Colorado, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 16 Jun 2004 | North American SNJ 5 | Oroville, Washington, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 19 Sep 2005 | North American SNJ-5 | Torrington, Wyoming, United States | Thomas E. Campau | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 1997 | North American SNJ-5 | Mesa, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 2001 | Cameron Balloons N-210 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 6 Mar 2001 | Cessna 172F | Clovis, New Mexico, United States | Eastern New Mexico Flight Academy | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jul 2001 | Cessna 172N | Farmington, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 May 2001 | 1977 Colfer-Chan STEEN SKYBOLT | Gallup, New Mexico, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 26 Oct 2001 | Beechcraft 58 | Farmington, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 May 2001 | Beechcraft KING AIR B90 | San Jon, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |