# NTSB CEN18LA275: Whittman Tailwind, N619NT, Orient, OH, July 12, 2018 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 12, 2018, 16:25 local (20:25 UTC) - Place: Orient, OH - Coordinates: 39.805831, -83.152221 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.8058&lon=-83.1522&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 20, 2020 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration; Columbus FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 97807 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN18LA275 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/97807/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=97807 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA275 ## Probable cause The pilot’s and the flight instructor's incorrect use of the modified mixture control, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and a forced landing. Also causal was the inadequate systems knowledge of the experimental, amateur-built airplane by the pilot and the flight instructor. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Engine controls: mixture control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057602): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057602/cases.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 41 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057602/cases.md) - [Action: incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 1,386 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md) - [Action: incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 1,386 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Knowledge: knowledge of equipment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02032015): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02032015/cases.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 69 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02032015/cases.md) - [Knowledge: knowledge of equipment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02032015): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Instructor/check pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02032015/cases.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 69 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02032015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Prior to flight: Aircraft maintenance event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/040); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/040/sequence.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 484 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/040/sequence.md) - [Enroute-cruise: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md) - [Enroute-cruise: Attempted remediation/recovery](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060/sequence.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 1,422 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=056310I), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot, who was the owner of the experimental amateur-built airplane, was receiving instruction from a flight instructor during a familiarization flight when the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power while leveling off at 2,000 ft mean sea level. The flight instructor attempted to restart the engine by turning on the carburetor heat and the fuel pump but was not successful. The flight instructor then performed a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot stated that the airplane was equipped with an unconventional mixture control that was improperly used during flight and caused the engine to quit running. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the mixture control had been modified from its original configuration; the full-forward position of the mixture control would provide a full lean mixture, opposite of the original configuration in which a full-forward position would have provided a full rich mixture. Thus, it is likely that fuel was inadvertently cut off during flight. There were no other mechanical malfunctions or anomalies reported that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The pilot recommended that "[b]etter and more thorough cockpit familiarization would have prevented the accident from occurring." ## Factual narrative On July 12, 2018, about 1625 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Whittman Tailwind, N619NT, impacted terrain during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power near Orient, Ohio. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The private pilot/airplane owner and a flight instructor were uninjured. The airplane was registered to the previous owner and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight departed from the Bolton Field Airport, near Columbus, Ohio, about 1610. The pilot, who was the airplane owner, stated the flight was a familiarization flight for him for the purpose of meeting insurance requirements. The flight instructor stated the preflight and runup for the familiarization flight was normal. After the departure and level off at 2,000 ft msl, the engine began to "surge and then quit running". He turned on carburetor heat and the fuel pump, but engine power was not regained, and the propeller kept windmilling. He then performed a forced landing to a field. The flight instructor did not provide his total flight time in the accident airplane make and model in his National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, Form 6120. The flight instructor entered "all types" in the flight time matrix of Form 6120. The flight instructor's experience in the accident airplane make and model was unknown. The pilot stated the airplane was equipped with an unconventional mixture control that was improperly used during flight and caused the engine to quit running. The pilot's recommendation was: "Better and more thorough cockpit familiarization would have prevented the accident from occurring." According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Columbus Flight Standards District Office, the post-accident examination of the airplane revealed the mixture control had been modified from its original configuration that was opposite of a configuration in which a full forward position of the mixture control would have provided a full rich mixture. As a result, the fuel was inadvertently cut-off during flight. There were no other mechanical anomalies reported that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N619NT](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N619NT), registered now, S/N 4039, built 2013 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: WHITTMAN Tailwind - Registry model: [Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND](https://openairdocs.org/model/ronald-hale-whittman-tailwind) (registry code 056310I) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-320-E2D](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-320-e2d) (registry code 42123, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 4039 - Year built: 2013 - Airframe hours: 15 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-E2D 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Pilot - Registered owner: Previous Owner - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, July 7, 2018, 16 hours before - Departed: TZR, Columbus, OH - Destination: TZR, Columbus, OH ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 1, 2017; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 800 total, 1 in this make and model - Flight instructor; age 72; injuries: none; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 19, 2018; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 30,000 total, 0 in this make and model, 29,800 as pilot in command, 180 in the last 90 days, 60 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 70° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: TZR, 15 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20180712011019A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180712011019A), Jul 12, 2018: Ronald Hale WHITTMAN TAILWIND, Orient, OH, Substantial damage. Mixture control modified from original industry standard configuration of full forward (in) for full rich to full forward for lean (fuel cutoff). As a result,… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 7, 2019, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=97807. 7.5 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 - Pilot (item 1, .PDF, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477824&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1%20-%20Pilot-Master.PDF - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 - Flight Instructor (item 2, .PDF, 3.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477825&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1%20-%20Flight%20Instructor-Master.PDF - Record of Correspondence - FAA (item 3, .PDF, 53 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477826&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Correspondence%20-%20FAA-Master.PDF - Aircraft Logbook (item 4, .PDF, 860 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477827&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Aircraft%20Logbook-Master.PDF - Engine Log (item 5, .PDF, 567 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40477828&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Engine%20Log-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.