Krejci S-51D N51KK

Summary

On 26 February 2002 at about 21:06 local time, a Krejci S-51D registered N51KK was involved in an accident near Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 February 2002 at 21:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States

Coordinates

27.4950, -80.3681

Aircraft

Krejci S-51D

Registration

N51KK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port St. Lucie → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL02LA055

1 person died.

The pilots failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering in an attempt to return to landing area (Emergency/ departure airport.) This resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. Factor to the accident was a partial loss of engine power due to a failed exhaust valve.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was observed on the takeoff roll by several witnesses. The engine was heard making a sound described as similar to a pop, slight burp, stumbling engine, slight miss, or a sound similar to dropping a cylinder like a belch. The tail wheel was observed to come off the ground and the engine was heard to make a missing sound and then smoothed out. The airplane became airborne and was observed to initiate a right turn followed by a steep turn back to the left estimated at about a 45-degree angle of bank. Both wing tips were visible to the witnesses. The airplane was at about 200 to 250 feet when it appeared to encounter a stall. It looked like the pilot initiated a recovery. The nose came up and the wings started to level. The airplane disappeared from view behind some tress and was heard to impact the terrain. Examination of the engine assembly revealed a hole in the vicinity of the No. 7 cylinder. The rocker cover was removed and the rocker arm for the exhaust valve was lying at an angle. The stud for the rocker arm was broken. A valve rocker retaining nut found at the crash site matched the broken end of the stud.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.