Whittman Tailwind W-8 N3992A

Summary

On 27 August 2002 at about 15:40 local time, a Whittman Tailwind W-8 registered N3992A was involved in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 August 2002 at 15:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.1472, -106.9078

Aircraft

Whittman Tailwind W-8

Registration

N3992A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02LA242

Nobody was injured.

The structural failure and separation of a propeller blade for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain available to the pilot to execute a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported to the FAA inspector that the flight was being conducted to evaluate a recently installed ground adjustable propeller. After maneuvering for a short time, the pilot and his passenger decided to return to the airport to readjust the propeller pitch in order to improve the climb capabilities of the aircraft. While returning to the airport, the engine developed "a sudden and violent vibration," and the pilot immediately decided to shut down the engine. After the propeller stopped rotating, the pilot observed that one of the three propeller blades had separated from the hub. A forced landing was initiated into an open field located about 5.5 nautical miles west of the airport of departure. The pilot added that during the landing on a rough and uneven terrain, the airplane touched down hard at about a 1,200 feet per minute rate of descent. The main landing gears sunk into the soft sandy soil, and the tailwheel-equipped airplane nosed over and came to rest in the inverted position. The airplane was reported to be powered by a 115 horsepower Lycoming O-235-C1A engine. The engine was driving a 3-bladed Precision propeller, which according to the pilot had accumulated less than 3 hours since installed new on the engine. The propeller model and serial number were not provided by the pilot. The mode of failure of the propeller blade could not be determined. The 331-hour instrument rated private pilot reported having accumulated a total of 38 hours in the accident make and model aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.