# Accident 19970913026479A: Amtrth THORPT18, Wagoner, OK, September 13, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 13, 1997, 13:40 local time - Place: Wagoner, OK - Airport: Wagoner Airstrip Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.9502° N, 95.3792° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9502&lon=-95.3792&mi=10 - Aircraft: N16LE, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N16LE-2000-05-03) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Reilly Leland F. THORP T-18 (registry code 89510BY, https://openairdocs.org/model/reilly-leland-f-thorp-t-18) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTRTH THORPT18 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 2,450 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA346](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA346) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970913026479A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ENTERED ACCELERATED STALL IN STEEP BANK TO REALIGN WITH RUNWAY. TYPE HAS RELATIVELY HIGH STALLING SPEED. HIT LAKE. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1997, AT 1340 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A REILLY THORP T-18 EXPERIMENTAL AIRPLANE, N16LE, REGISTERED TO THE PILOT (BUILDER OF THE AIRPLANE), IMPACTED A SHALLOW LAKE FOLLOWING A LOSS OF CONTROL DURING APPROACH FOR LANDING AT WAGONER AIRSTRIP, WAGONER, OKLAHOMA. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED, AND THE PILOT-RATED PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT, WHICH ORIGINATED FROM WAGONER AIRSTRIP AT 1300, WAS INTENDED FOR THE OWNER/PILOT TO DEMONSTRATE THE AIRCRAFT TO THE PASSENGER WHO WAS A POTENTIAL BUYER. SEVERAL WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE IN A LEFT TRAFFIC PATTERN ON THE BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY 17. THE WITNESSES THEN OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE IN A LEFT TRAFFIC PATTERN ON THE BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY 17. THE WITNESSES THEN OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE MAKE A "VERY STEEP" LEFT TURN TOWARD THE RUNWAY. DURING THE TURN, THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT WING "SEEMED TO DROP DRAMATICALLY," AND THE AIRPLANE QUICKLY LOST ALTITUDE. SUBSEQUENTLY , THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED UNCONTROLLED INTO A LAKE, LOCATED SOUTHEAST OF THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 17. DURING RECOVERY THE RIGHT WING WAS FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE. THE INSTRUMENT PANEL BUCKLED DOWNWARD, AND THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FUSELAGE WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED. (.4) AFTER ABOUT 40 MINUTES OF LOCAL FLIGHT, THE AIRPLANE ENTERED INTO A LEFT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 17. REPORTED WINDS WERE FROM 130 AT 10 KNOTS. SEVERAL WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE IN A LEFT TRAFFIC PATTERN ON THE BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY 17. ONE OF THE WITNESSES, WHO WAS A PILOT, STATED THAT HE OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE 'OVERSHOOT' THE RUNWAY ON BASE LEG, SAW THE LEFT WING GO 'DOWN', AND THEN SAW THE AIRPLANE 'STALL.' THE OTHER WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE MAKE A 'VERY STEEP' LEFT TURN TOWARD THE RUNWAY, HEARD THE ENGINE 'POWER UP' DURING THE TURN, AND THEN SAW THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT WING 'DROP DRAMATICALLY.' SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED UNCONTROLLED INTO A LAKE, LOCATED SOUTHEAST OF THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 17. A STALL STRIP WAS NOT FOUND INSTALLED ON THE AIRCRAFT. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 1:40 P.M. CENTRAL STANDARD DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME, N16LE, AN AMATEUR BUILT MODEL THORP T18, AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH THE WATER AT FORT GIBSON LAKE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT WAGONER AIRSTRIP, WAGONER, OK. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED BY MR. LELAND REILLY AND WAS ON A DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT FLOWN BY THE POTENTIAL BUYER/PILOT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED THROUGHOUT THE AREA. THE OWNER/CO-PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES, THE PILOT RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AND WAS TO HAVE TERMINATED AT WAGONER AIRSTRIP, AFTER A LEFT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 17, N16LE, TURNED LEFT BASE, WHILE TURNING FINAL THE PILOT REALIZED HE HAD OVERSHOT FINAL AND CONTINUED TO STEEPEN THE TURN, UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT STALLED AND CRASHED IN THE WATER. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW97LA346](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA346), Sep 13, 1997: Reilly Thorp T-18 (N16LE), Wagoner, OK, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.