Grumman F9F-2 NX72WP

Summary

On 19 September 1996 at about 21:21 local time, a Grumman F9F-2 registered NX72WP was involved in an accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 September 1996 at 21:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek (AZO)

Coordinates

42.2004, -85.5608

Aircraft

Grumman F9F-2

Registration

NX72WP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Norfolk

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96FA342

1 person was seriously injured.

The overrun of the runway as a result of the pilot's misjudgment of speed and distance because of an unreliable airspeed indication; reason for the unreliable airspeed indication was undetermined. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's perception of a power interruption and throttle/power control not being available for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet above ground level, he felt a sudden deceleration and was thrown forward in his seat. He also noted that the airplane would not accelerate beyond 120 knots indicated airspeed, which he attributed to a problem with the pitot system, and that he decided to return to land. He said that while on the downwind leg, he retarded the throttle to idle, but the engine rpm reduced to 65 percent instead of the normal 28 percent. At this time, a red light illuminated in the cockpit, and the pilot stated that he believed this to be the warning light for the Emergency Fuel System. He said that as a precaution, he decided to shut the engine down and do a power-off landing. The pilot reported that he aimed for the first third to one-half-the-way down the runway, and he landed 'long and hot.' He was unable to stop on the remaining runway and steered the airplane on to a grassy area to the right side of the runway. He indicated that he had previously experienced anomalies with the fuel control unit and fuel pump; however, postaccident testing of these components did not reproduce the conditions reported by the pilot on the accident flight. Except for a slightly higher than normal idle (36 percent), the fuel controller performed satisfactorily. The airspeed indicator was damaged and could not be functionally tested.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.