Rogers T-51 MUSTANG KIT N548RR

Summary

On 11 June 2013 at about 14:15 local time, a Rogers T-51 MUSTANG KIT registered N548RR was involved in an accident near St Francis, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 June 2013 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

St Francis, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Cheyenne County Muni (SYF)

Coordinates

39.7594, -101.7867

Aircraft

Rogers T-51 MUSTANG KIT

Registration

N548RR

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Francis → St Francis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA346

Nobody was injured.

Foreign debris in the propeller governor, which led to excessive wear in the governor and its subsequent in-flight failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had been flying the amateur-built airplane for about 15 minutes at a cruise altitude of between 4,000 and 5,000 ft when he attempted to slow the engine rpm by pulling the propeller control back; however, this had no effect on the engine rpm. The pilot attempted to slow the rpm several times, but the propeller then cycled to "full bite" and remained that way until he performed a wheels-up landing on a rough road. The airplane had accumulated 50 hours of total flight time at the time of the accident. During a postaccident test run, the engine ran normally. Oil was drained from the propeller gearbox, and it presented a used appearance. The propeller governor was subsequently bench tested and did not meet the manufacturer's test specifications. A disassembly of the governor revealed the presence of foreign debris and wear marks on several parts of the governor. After the governor was cleaned and reassembled, it was bench tested again, and it operated normally. The pilot reported that, after the accident, the airplane was repaired, the engine and a new governor were installed, and the airplane operated without any anomalies. The foreign debris likely caused excessive wear inside the propeller governor, which subsequently led to its in-flight failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.