Bushby MUSTANG M-11 N30430

Summary

On 5 July 2002 at about 19:00 local time, a Bushby MUSTANG M-11 registered N30430 was involved in an accident near Pahrump, Nevada, 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

5 July 2002 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pahrump, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Calvada Meadows Airport (NV74)

Coordinates

36.0500, -116.0000

Aircraft

Bushby MUSTANG M-11

Registration

N30430

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Apple Valley → Pahrump

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA220

Nobody was injured.

the failure and separation of a propeller blade for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The experimental airplane experienced a propeller blade failure and separation during cruise flight, resulting in airframe damage due to the severity of the vibrations from the out of balance propeller. While approaching the proximity of the airport, the pilot lowered the nose, in an effort to begin a gradual decent. About 9,500 mean sea level, the engine began to violently shake. He set the throttle to idle, the mixture in the off position, turned off the master switch, and put the fuel selector in the "off" position. He looked for a place to land and spotted a dry lake below. He configured the airplane in a slip and landed successfully. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed that 21 inches of a propeller blade tip had separated from the propeller body. The pilot thought that the consequential imbalance resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. The engine was left hanging by a 3/8-inch bolt. The propeller was a fixed pitch, aluminum two-bladed McCauley, part number 1A170/7074. The propeller had undergone a propeller strike prior to the accident, where it was shortened from 76 inches to 70 inches, and repitched.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.