North American/Aero Classics P 51D N1451D

Summary

On 4 July 2014 at about 15:27 local time, a North American/Aero Classics P 51D registered N1451D was involved in an accident near Durango, Colorado, 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

4 July 2014 at 15:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Durango, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Durango-la Plata County (DRO)

Coordinates

37.1656, -107.7453

Aircraft

North American/Aero Classics P 51D

Registration

N1451D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1944

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Durango → Durango

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14FA339

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to compensate for the high-performance airplane's tendency to enter a torque roll during the initial climb, which resulted in the airplane entering a torque roll and the subsequent loss of control at too low of an altitude to recover. Contributing to the pilot's failure to compensate for the airplane's tendency to enter a torque roll was his impairment from tetrahydrocannabinol.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was seated in the front seat and the flight instructor in the rear seat during an instructional flight. The pilot had not received an endorsement to fly solo in the airplane. Witnesses reported that, shortly after departure, the airplane entered a hard left bank to about 90 degrees, pitched up slightly, and then banked past 90 degrees to an inverted position. The airplane's nose then pitched down to about a 45-degree angle and then impacted terrain. The witness's description of the flight is consistent with a torque roll, which can occur after takeoff in airplanes that have a high-performance engine such as that installed in the accident airplane, and subsequent loss of control. Witnesses also indicated that the pilot typically dipped the left wing during takeoff to wave, and it is possible that the pilot did this during the accident flight and that this contributed to the torque roll. Due to the low altitude at the time of the torque roll, the flight instructor would not have had sufficient time to enter control inputs to regain control of the airplane before it impacted terrain. Toxicology testing for the pilot detected tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in marijuana, and its inactive metabolite in his cavity blood and lung tissue. It was determined there was enough THC in the pilot's system to have been impairing, and it is likely that this led to his failure to appropriately compensate for the risk of a torque roll in the high-performance airplane.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.