North American P 51D N4151D

Summary

On 23 October 2013 at about 16:30 local time, a North American P 51D registered N4151D, operated by Lone Star Flight Museum, was involved in an accident near Galveston, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 October 2013 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Galveston, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.1667, -95.1003

Aircraft

North American P 51D

Registration

N4151D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1944

Operator

Lone Star Flight Museum

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Galveston → Galveston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA015

2 people died.

The pilot's loss of situational awareness while instructing the passenger, which resulted in the controlled flight of the airplane into the water.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger departed on the flight in a vintage warbird airplane. After departure, radar tracked the flight along a bay in a southwestern direction. A witness reported that he heard the airplane overhead heading south and that he then saw the airplane slowly turn north and appear to descend at a high rate of speed before it impacted the water. The airplane was largely fragmented upon impact. The flight was recorded by an onboard video recording system. A review of the video revealed that, a few minutes into the flight, the pilot asked the passenger if he'd like to fly the airplane. The passenger replied he was not a pilot, but he'd like to try it. The video showed that, with the passenger at the controls, the airplane steeply banked right to about 90 degrees, and the nose dropped; the pilot explained that back pressure was needed on the stick during turns to prevent the loss of lift. The conversation continued as the airplane was rolling to wings level and as the pilot was encouraging the passenger to pull back on the stick. During this time, the video showed the airplane descending toward the water. Neither the pilot nor passenger acknowledged the impending collision. It is likely that the pilot's focused attention on instructing the passenger contributed to the his lack of recognition of the impending collision. It could not be determined if the water's smooth surface contributed to the pilot's loss of situational awareness. The accident is consistent with the pilot's loss of situational awareness resulting in controlled flight into the water.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.