- Date
- October 31, 1991, 11:38 local (17:38 UTC)
- Place
- Missing
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N24WJGrumman F9F-8T
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 13, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911031048859A
- Case key
- 18376
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Undetermined.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The 1960 manufactured military trainer was climbing through 25,300 feet to its cruising altitude of 29,000 feet when radar contact was lost. A four day air and water search failed to locate the airplane or occupants. The pilot had been issued a letter of authorization to fly the airplane in VFR conditions only. The airplane was equipped for IMC flight, but it did not have weather radar installed. Convective activity (vip level one thunderstorms) existed in the vicinity of the last known position and overcast skies prevailed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N24WJ
- Reported as
- Grumman F9F-8T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- A-20-60
- Engine
- P&W J48-P-8A, 7,250 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- World Jet Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- BFD · Houston, TX
- Destination
- TLH · Tallahassee, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 6,728 total · 1,400 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- 140° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,200 ft broken
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LCH, 48 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.