North American P-51D N551w

Summary

On 29 July 2008 at about 22:25 local time, a North American P-51D registered N551w was involved in an accident near Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. One person was 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

29 July 2008 at 22:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Richard Lloyd Jones Jr (RVS)

Coordinates

36.0394, -95.9844

Aircraft

North American P-51D

Registration

N551w

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tulsa → Tulsa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08CA202

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot began his takeoff roll on a maintenance test flight. During the ground roll and near rotation speed, the pilot moved his hand from the throttle to the gear handle. The pilot reported that the throttle friction lock was not properly set and the throttle experienced "throttle creep" reducing engine power. The pilot advanced the throttle, at which time the airplane became airborne and began to torque roll. An aborted takeoff was executed by the pilot and the airplane touched down off of the runway. The airplane came to rest after contacting the airfield perimeter fence. Substantial damage was sustained to the right wing and left horizontal stabilizer.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.