- Date
- December 15, 1989, 17:56 local (Dec 16, 1989, 01:56 UTC)
- Place
- Austin, NV
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N111GCCrawford-Gordon Thorp T-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19891215051329A
- Case key
- 41096
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
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
An improper major alteration performed by the pilot. As a result of this modification, the propeller failed in flight.
Analysis
During a cross country flight, the pilot made an unscheduled landing at an airport to check on a noise. Shortly after landing, the flight continued. Radar returns indicate that the airplane departed the airport on a northerly heading and climbed to 11,900 feet then began to descend, turning westerly away from rising terrain. The airplane collided with hilly terrain aprx 14 miles from the airport. One propeller blade had separated and was not located. A metallurgical test revealed that the break was due to high cycle bending stresses induced by resonant vibration. Research of the airplane's history revealed that another engine (different from which the aircraft was originally certificated) had been installed on the airplane and that the propeller (original from the first engine) at some time had been cut and repitched.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N111GC
- Reported as
- Crawford-Gordon Thorp T-18
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 387
- Airframe hours
- 1,602
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gordon B. Crawford
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 9U3 · Autsin, NV
- Destination
- TWF · Sun Valley, ID
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,732 total · 1,602 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RNO, 117 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.