Loss of FM-2 N681S

[LtMagee]

NTSB Identification: FTW04LA010
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 18, 2003 in Houston, TX
Aircraft: General Motors FM-2, registration: N681S
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On October 18, 2003, approximately 1817 central daylight time, a General Motors FM-2 "Wildcat", single-engine WWII vintage warbird airplane, N681S, was destroyed after it impacted the terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering near Ellington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to the American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum, Midland, Texas, and operated by the Confederate Air Force, Midland, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 airshow flight. The local flight departed Ellington Field at an unknown time, and at the time of the accident, the airplane was participating in the Wings Over Houston airshow.

Witnesses, who were traveling on a nearby roadway, reported observing the airplane approximately 200 feet agl on approach to Ellington Field trailing a twin-engine bomber aircraft. Several witness stated the airplane had executed a series of 360-degree steep turns to allow for spacing between the slower aircraft that were on approach to the airport. During a right turn, the airplane pitched nose up, the wings "wobbled", the airplane descend and entered a partial spin. One witness stated it appeared the airplane, approximately 50 feet agl, attempted to level off; however, then impacted the terrain in a nose down attitude. Another witness stated the propeller was turning and did not notice any problems with the airplane or engine. The witnesses did not observe any smoke or fire from the airplane prior to the impact.

According to an FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, the wreckage was located approximately 1,500 feet from the approach end of runway 35R. The main wreckage came to rest upright on a measured magnetic heading of 280 degrees, approximately 40 feet from the initial impact, and the wreckage debris was distributed along a magnetic heading of 240 degrees. The initial impact crater was consistent with the nose and engine of the airplane, and the propeller hub and blades were located in the crater.

Examination of the wreckage by the FAA inspector revealed the left wing was separated and came to rest adjacent to the main wreckage, and the right wing was partially separated and folded aft along the fuselage. The vertical stabilizer was wrinkled and the rudder remained attached. The right horizontal stabilizer was partially separated at the fuselage, and the right elevator control surface was separated at its respective hinge points. The propeller assembly was separated from the engine, and the engine sustained substantial impact damage. The cockpit throttle control was found in the full forward (ON) position, the mixture was found at the idle cut off, and the left magneto was selected.

According to the pilot's most recent medical application, he accumulated approximately 6,000 total flight hours.

At 1750, the EFD automatic terminal information service (ATIS) reported the wind from 020 degrees at 8 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, sky clear, temperature 77 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.11 inches of mercury.
Index for Oct2003 | Index of months

[gofaster]

Sounds like he stalled it while trying to bleed off speed and lacked enough altitude to recover.

Several witness stated the airplane had executed a series of 360-degree steep turns to allow for spacing between the slower aircraft that were on approach to the airport. During a right turn, the airplane pitched nose up, the wings "wobbled", the airplane descend and entered a partial spin. One witness stated it appeared the airplane, approximately 50 feet agl, attempted to level off; however, then impacted the terrain in a nose down attitude.

[moot]

if beer cans could fly, the sky would be blue.

[GScholz]

Isn't that the second Wildcat lost in a very short time now?

[gofaster]

Originally posted by GScholz
Isn't that the second Wildcat lost in a very short time now?

I think this is the official Nat'l Transportation Safety Board report on the incident reported on this BBS last month.  As far as I know, we've only lost 1 Wildcat this year, but I could be wrong.

[RTR]

Hmmm..Odd.
Given that the aircraft was in the close vicinity to the runway,  it is safe to assume that he was basically flying an approach to land (albeit orbiting to put distance between himself and the other a/c).

The Mixture should have been at full rich if his intent was to land.
Also, only the left mag was switched on. This is in itself odd, as there is absolutley no reason to switch off a mag in flight. Both should have been selected.

Something unknown (to all but the unfortunate pilot) must have been happening. As to what..any guesses?
Not knowing the start procedure for an FM2 I couldnt even guess.
Is the start switch part of the mag switch? (IE to start do you move the switch from Off..through left mag-->right mag-->Both-->Start)?

Almost sounds like some sort of mechanical problem presented itself, and was either unrecoverable given the altitude, or was reacted to improperly.

Any further info on this?

Sad,
RTR

[Wolfala]

Trailing a twin engined bomber and S-turns for spacing.... Did you guys ever consider wake turbulence?

[JB66]

Sounds like Wake to me also.

[jigsaw]

I agree with the wake. Given the wind and runway information, if he were in left traffic, that breeze would have blown the wake right under him.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by RTR
Hmmm..Odd.
Given that the aircraft was in the close vicinity to the runway,  it is safe to assume that he was basically flying an approach to land (albeit orbiting to put distance between himself and the other a/c).

The Mixture should have been at full rich if his intent was to land.
Also, only the left mag was switched on. This is in itself odd, as there is absolutley no reason to switch off a mag in flight. Both should have been selected.

Something unknown (to all but the unfortunate pilot) must have been happening. As to what..any guesses?
Not knowing the start procedure for an FM2 I couldnt even guess.
Is the start switch part of the mag switch? (IE to start do you move the switch from Off..through left mag-->right mag-->Both-->Start)?

Almost sounds like some sort of mechanical problem presented itself, and was either unrecoverable given the altitude, or was reacted to improperly.

Any further info on this?

Sad,
RTR

Starting an R-1820 is about as straight forward as it gets.

Mixture in idle cutoff. Throttle cracked. Mag set to "both", master mag switch off. Pump up fuel pressure (for prime) using wobble pump. If it has an electric starter, engage the starter. Count 9 blades if engine is cold, 6 blades if warm. Mag on, primer switch to on, intermittant prime till engine catches, then constant prime as cylinders clear and engine runs smoothly (may require using th eprimer pumps). Mixture to rich, watch for brief RPM drop as Carb takes over... primer switch off.

FM-2 and F4Fs used a cartridge starter. I imagine this was replaced with an electric starter on this particular aircraft. Either way, if he lost power due to a tank running dry, he would have to select another tank and windmill start the engine. But, I doubt that this was the case. Since the  mixture was found in idle cutoff, I suspect one of two things happened.

1) He suffered a carb failure or related failure. He would then have to pull the mixture to idle cutoff to run the engine off the primer wobble pump. It'll turn about 1,200-1,400 rpm on the primer, but run rough and make little motive power. This also requires you to use your right hand to operate the pump, making flying anything but smooth. His problem is magnified by the need to use his right hand to manually crank down the landing gear. Can't do both.... The engine is supplied fuel by a mechanical engine driven pump, and an electric boost pump, which should have been turned on (it's on the checklist).

2) He flew the plane into and accelerated stall, and failed to recover before striking the ground. It's possible that he knocked the mixture lever aft during the crash, and the mag switch is right next to the throttle lever, so it could have been knocked to "left " position as well.

I'm sure the NTSB will discover the cause.

Very possibly, this will attributed to pilot error.

My regards,

Widewing

[Widewing]

Originally posted by RTR
Hmmm..Odd.
Given that the aircraft was in the close vicinity to the runway,  it is safe to assume that he was basically flying an approach to land (albeit orbiting to put distance between himself and the other a/c).

The Mixture should have been at full rich if his intent was to land.
Also, only the left mag was switched on. This is in itself odd, as there is absolutley no reason to switch off a mag in flight. Both should have been selected.

Something unknown (to all but the unfortunate pilot) must have been happening. As to what..any guesses?
Not knowing the start procedure for an FM2 I couldnt even guess.
Is the start switch part of the mag switch? (IE to start do you move the switch from Off..through left mag-->right mag-->Both-->Start)?

Almost sounds like some sort of mechanical problem presented itself, and was either unrecoverable given the altitude, or was reacted to improperly.

Any further info on this?

Sad,
RTR

Starting an R-1820 is about as straight forward as it gets.

Mixture in idle cutoff. Throttle cracked. Mag set to "both", master mag switch off. Pump up fuel pressure (for prime) using wobble pump. If it has an electric starter, engage the starter. Count 9 blades if engine is cold, 6 blades if warm. Mag on, primer switch to on, intermittant prime till engine catches, then constant prime as cylinders clear and engine runs smoothly (may require using th eprimer pumps). Mixture to rich, watch for brief RPM drop as Carb takes over... primer switch off.

FM-2 and F4Fs used a cartridge starter. I imagine this was replaced with an electric starter on this particular aircraft. Either way, if he lost power due to a tank running dry, he would have to select another tank and windmill start the engine. But, I doubt that this was the case. Since the  mixture was found in idle cutoff, I suspect one of two things happened.

1) He suffered a carb failure or related failure. He would then have to pull the mixture to idle cutoff to run the engine off the primer wobble pump. It'll turn about 1,200-1,400 rpm on the primer, but make little motive power. This also requires you to use your right hand to operate the pump, making flying anything but smooth. His problem is magnified by the need to use his right hand to manually crank down the landing gear. Can't do both.... The engine is supplied fuel by a mechanical engine driven pump, and an electric boost pump, which should have been turned on (it's on the checklist).

2) He flew the plane into and accelerated stall, and failed to recover before striking the ground. It's possible that he knocked the mixture lever aft during the crash, and the mag switch is right next to the throttle lever, so it could have been knocked to "left " position as well.

I'm sure the NTSB will discover the cause.

Very possibly, this will attributed to pilot error.

My regards,

Widewing