- Date
- March 7, 1988, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- State College, PA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N51WENorth American F-51D
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 11, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880307005849A
- Case key
- 35972
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
N51WE, a north American F-51D took off as the second ship of a two ship flight with N6341T, another F-51D. They were observed climbing in formation into the clouds. N6341T assumed communications and said they were a flight of 2 and ok, after ATC was unable to contact N51WE. Witnesses were found who saw and heard an aircraft traveling north and experiencing engine trouble. Witnesses also said the mountain tops were obscured. N51WE was found near the top of a wooded hill south of the departure airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot fatally injured. Examination of the engine showed that there was one fouled spark plug, however, the magnetos and carburator were not recovered. The wx observation site was 6 miles south of the acc site.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51WE
- Reported as
- North American F-51D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 44-11153
- Engine
- Packard V1650-7, 1,700 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William E. Clark
- Registered owner
- Clark Motor Co., Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination
- CHS · Charleston, SC
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 66
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,800 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- UNV, 6 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.