Starduster II N78WT

Summary

On 24 February 2025 at about 20:30 local time, a Starduster II registered N78WT was involved in an accident near Azle, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

24 February 2025 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Azle, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Flying Oaks Airport (2TE2)

Coordinates

32.8951, -97.5459

Aircraft

Starduster II

Registration

N78WT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA103

2 people had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On February 24, 2025, at 1430 central standard time, a Starduster II airplane, N78WT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Azle, Texas. The private pilot and a passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot had flown the airplane earlier in the day and planned on flying the airplane in the airport traffic pattern at the time of the accident. He said the takeoff was normal and during the downwind to base leg turn for runway 15, the airplane became sluggish and was sinking. He said the left wing dropped severely, which he attributed to a tip stall. He corrected for the wing drop by applying right aileron and right rudder inputs. The left wing rose and then dropped again. He said the airplane was not equipped with a stall warning system. He advanced the engine throttle but did not feel a response. He said that he was not looking at the engine tachometer because he was looking at the airport. The airplane descended and impacted terrain. A postcrash fire ensued, which destroyed the airplane. The airplane was retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.