# Accident 19960919028729A: Gruman F9F2PRYOR, Kalamazoo, MI, September 19, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 19, 1996, 17:21 local time
- Place: Kalamazoo, MI
- Airport: Kalamazoo County
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.2752° N, 85.5885° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Kalamazoo, MI, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.2752&lon=-85.5885&mi=10
- Aircraft: N72WP (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: GRUMAN F9F2PRYOR
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,323 total, 236 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960919028729A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

LANDED ON RUNWAY AND UNABLE TO STOP, RAN OFF END OF RUNWAY, CRASHED AND BURNED. (.4)ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL, HE FELT A SUDDEN DECELERATION AND WAS THROWN FORWARD IN HIS SEAT.  HE ALSO NOTED THAT THE AIRPLANE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 120 KNOTS INDICATED AIRSPEED, WHICH HE ATTRIBUTED TO A PROBLEM WITH THE PITOT SYSTEM, AND THAT HE DECIDED TO RETURN TO LAND.  HE SAID THAT WHILE ON THE DOWNWIND LEG, HE RETARDED THE THROTTLE TO IDLE, BUT THE ENGINE RPM REDUCED TO 65 PERCENT INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL 28 PERCENT.  AT THIS TIME, A RED LIGHT ILLUMINATED IN THE COCKPIT, AND THE PILOT STATED THAT HE BELIEVED THIS TO BE THE WARNING LIGHT FOR THE EMERGENCY FUEL SYSTEM.  HE SAID THAT AS A PRECAUTION, HE DECIDED TO SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN AND DO A POWER-OFF LANDING.  THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE AIMED FOR THE FIRST THIRD TO ONE-HALF-THE-WAY DOWN THE RUNWAY, AND HE LANDED 'LONG AND HOT.'  HE WAS UNABLE TO STOP ON THE REMAINING RUNWAY AND STEERED THE AIRPLANE ON TO A GRASSY AREA TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY.  HE INDICATED THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED ANOMALIES WITH THE F                                                                      UEL CONTROL UNIT AND FUEL PUMP; HOWEVER, POSTACCIDENT TESTING OF THSES COMPENENTS DID NOT REPRODUCE THE CONDITIONS REPORTED BY THE PILOT ON THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. EXCEPT FOR A SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN NORAML IDLE (36 PERCENT), THE FUEL CONTROLLER PERFORMED SATISFACTORILY.  A VISUAL EXAMINATION OF THE AIRSPEES INDICATOR COULD NOT CONCLUDE IT THE UNIT WAS FUNCTIONAL DURING THE FLIGHT; THE VISUAL EXAMINATION SUGGESTED THAT A VALID OPERATIONAL TEST COULD NOT BE PERFORMED.                                                          (-23) SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF THE PILOT REPORTED TO ATCT AN ENGINE PROBLEM AND REQUESTED A RETURN TO THE AIRPORT. THE PLANE LANDED LONG AND FAST AND WENT OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY INTO A BERM. THE PILOT RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE PILOT REPORTED THE AIRPLANE DID NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY, THAT POWER LEVER RESPONSES WERE NOT AS THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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