Pilot Debrief

WILLIAMS JOHN T-51 MUSTANG near Oshkosh, WI — 2012-08-07

Final reportCEN12LA530
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Date
2012-08-07
Location
Oshkosh, WI, USA
Airport
KOSH
Aircraft
WILLIAMS JOHN T-51 MUSTANG
Registration
N151TA
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The separation of an engine cooling hose from the radiator.

NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff for a test flight, the pilot noticed that the airplane was not climbing as expected and the engine was slowly losing power. The coolant temperature was 225 degrees and the airplane was only 250 to 300 feet above ground level. During the return to the airport, the pilot heard and felt an explosion behind him and felt a burning sensation on his back. During the forced landing, the right main landing gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed that a cooling line had separated from the radiator behind the pilot during the accident flight. The examination also revealed that the radiator hose line clamp for a different cooling hose was overtightened and not seated properly in its pipe bead. A replacement engine had been installed as a result of a blown head gasket during a previous flight; however, the cooling system was not replaced, and it could not be determined when the clamp was overtightened. An examination of the remaining systems revealed no anomalies.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the flight after observing high coolant temperatures.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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