Rockwell 114 N4861W

Summary

On 7 April 1997 at about 23:14 local time, a Rockwell 114 registered N4861W, operated by Robert K. Cordray, was involved in an accident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 April 1997 at 23:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Sundance Airpark (HSD)

Coordinates

35.4798, -97.6506

Aircraft

Rockwell 114

Registration

N4861W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robert K. Cordray

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA156

Nobody was injured.

The exhaust manifold cracking due to the pilot's inadequate maintenance modification of the exhaust system which resulted in a fire. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine lost power and an in flight fire sent smoke into the cabin during initial takeoff climb on a local maintenance flight of a prototype exhaust system. During the forced landing, short of the runway, the airplane touched down in soft soil, crossed a gravel driveway and struck an embankment and a fence before coming to a stop. Subsequently the airplane was consumed by the fire. The airframe was inspected by the FAA inspector and he found an unapproved modification, designed by the pilot, for the cowling and the exhaust system. The exhaust system components were wrapped in a heat protective tape approximately 2 inches wide. After removing the exhaust from the engine and removing the tape, it was found that the right hand exhaust pipe collector was cracked in several areas. The pilot reported that he was working on a STC for drag reduction and the experimental exhaust manifold cracked at the weld after 7 hours of test flights.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.