North American T-6G N7197C

Summary

On 4 August 2021 at about 20:20 local time, a North American T-6G registered N7197C was involved in an accident near Starkville, Mississippi, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 August 2021 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Starkville, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Oktibbeha (M51)

Coordinates

33.5153, -88.6894

Aircraft

North American T-6G

Registration

N7197C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Point → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21FA355

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees while maneuvering at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting a series of low-level maneuvers when the accident occurred. The airplane subsequently impacted trees and terrain. A postaccident examination revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Although ethanol was detected in the pilot’s cavity blood, no ethanol was detected in the pilot’s vitreous specimens. Because vitreous specimens are generally less susceptible to contamination and postmortem microbial ethanol production than other specimen types, the absence of detectable ethanol in the pilot’s vitreous specimens indicated that the detected ethanol in the pilot’s cavity blood was likely from sources other than consumption and was thus not a factor in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.