Titan T-51D N15180

Summary

On 6 July 2021 at about 18:45 local time, a Titan T-51D registered N15180 was involved in an accident near Ashtabula, Ohio, 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

6 July 2021 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Ashtabula, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Northeast Ohio Regional (HZY)

Coordinates

41.8900, -80.7900

Aircraft

Titan T-51D

Registration

N15180

Category

Airplane

Year built

2020

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA309

Nobody was injured.

The tripped engine control computer circuit breaker caused by an excessive electrical load on the system, which resulted in a complete loss of engine power during the initial climb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The intent of the flight was to perform fuel flow and fuel indicator checks on the newly built airplane while taxiing on the ground; however, they were not able to obtain full engine performance on the ground and the pilot elected to take the airplane into the air. After takeoff, while climbing through 200 ft above ground level (agl), the engine lost power. The operator reported that the engine computer circuit breaker had tripped which resulted in the loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to reset the circuit breaker and restart the engine without success. The airplane landed hard on the runway and the left main landing gear collapsed. The left wing sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination showed that the oxygen sensors used to tune the engine were left on the engine’s cylinder exhaust pipes during the flight. The sensors drew power from the engine’s control computer. During the initial climb, the increased electrical demand to run the oxygen sensors at maximum engine power exceeded the 15-ampere limit on the engine’s control computer, its circuit breaker to tripped, and the engine lost power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.