- Date
- July 22, 1983, 17:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Allegany, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N5004Sopwith Triplane
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830722037039A
- Case key
- 35091
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 owner/plt of the home built, sopwith triplane took off on a local flt. This was the 1st flt since some maintenance rework & a new propeller installation. After the acft was airborne for aprx 20 min, it was observed flying at about 500 ft AGL. Reportedly, it had just turned from north to a southwesterly heading when the fuel tank (in front of the instrument panel) exploded. Immediately, the fuselage was engulfed in flames. The acft descended in a slow glide to its impact point. If came to rest at an embankment in an inverted attitude & was demolished by fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5004
- Reported as
- Sopwith Triplane
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1001979
- Engine
- Jacobs R-755-B2, 275 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- George W. Clapp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- D73 · Allegany, NY
- Airport
- D-73 · Star Aerodrome
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 700 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.