Williams John T-51 MUSTANG N151TA

Summary

On 7 August 2012 at about 21:20 local time, a Williams John T-51 MUSTANG registered N151TA was involved in an accident near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 August 2012 at 21:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH)

Coordinates

43.9850, -88.5617

Aircraft

Williams John T-51 MUSTANG

Registration

N151TA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oshkosh → Oshkosh

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12LA530

1 person was seriously injured.

The separation of an engine cooling hose from the radiator.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff for a test flight, the pilot noticed that the airplane was not climbing as expected and the engine was slowly losing power. The coolant temperature was 225 degrees and the airplane was only 250 to 300 feet above ground level. During the return to the airport, the pilot heard and felt an explosion behind him and felt a burning sensation on his back. During the forced landing, the right main landing gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed that a cooling line had separated from the radiator behind the pilot during the accident flight. The examination also revealed that the radiator hose line clamp for a different cooling hose was overtightened and not seated properly in its pipe bead. A replacement engine had been installed as a result of a blown head gasket during a previous flight; however, the cooling system was not replaced, and it could not be determined when the clamp was overtightened. An examination of the remaining systems revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.