North American P51D N1451D

Summary

On 3 April 1987 at about 16:00 local time, a North American P51D registered N1451D was involved in an accident near Ashfork, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

3 April 1987 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Ashfork, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

35.1304, -112.5208

Aircraft

North American P51D

Registration

N1451D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Prescott → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX87DVW01

1 person had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE NORTH AMERICAN P-51D EXPERIENCED A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AFTER CRUISING AT 10,000 FEET MSL FOR 45 MINUTES. ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE ENGINE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH SOME TREES PRIOR TO COMING TO REST IN AN OPEN FIELD. THE LANDING GEAR WAS NOT EXTENDED PRIOR TO THE FORCED LANDING. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE RPM READ ZERO EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE WAS WINDMILLING. TEAR DOWN OF THE ENGINE REVEALED A FAILED BEARING ON THE VERTICAL ACCESSORY DRIVE SHAFT. THE FAILURE ALLOWED THE SHAFT TO SHIFT UPWARDS DISENGAGING THE GEARS. THE VERTICAL SHAFT DRIVES THE MAJORITY OF THE ACCESSORIES (MAGS,PUMPS,TACH,ETC.).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.