Whittman TAILWIND N619NT

Summary

On 12 July 2018 at about 20:25 local time, a Whittman TAILWIND registered N619NT was involved in an accident near Orient, Ohio, United States. 2 people were 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

12 July 2018 at 20:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Orient, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

39.8058, -83.1522

Aircraft

Whittman TAILWIND

Registration

N619NT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbus → Columbus

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA275

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s and the flight instructor's incorrect use of the modified mixture control, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and a forced landing. Also causal was the inadequate systems knowledge of the experimental, amateur-built airplane by the pilot and the flight instructor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot, who was the owner of the experimental amateur-built airplane, was receiving instruction from a flight instructor during a familiarization flight when the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power while leveling off at 2,000 ft mean sea level. The flight instructor attempted to restart the engine by turning on the carburetor heat and the fuel pump but was not successful. The flight instructor then performed a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot stated that the airplane was equipped with an unconventional mixture control that was improperly used during flight and caused the engine to quit running. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the mixture control had been modified from its original configuration; the full-forward position of the mixture control would provide a full lean mixture, opposite of the original configuration in which a full-forward position would have provided a full rich mixture. Thus, it is likely that fuel was inadvertently cut off during flight. There were no other mechanical malfunctions or anomalies reported that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The pilot recommended that "[b]etter and more thorough cockpit familiarization would have prevented the accident from occurring."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.