Dyess Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Abilene, Texas 79601
Saturday, June 23, 1990 13:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE PILOT BEGAN HIS AIR SHOW ROUTINE WITH A LOW PASS DOWN THE RUNWAY FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. HE THEN MADE A CLIMBING TURN TO A CLOSE-IN DOWNWIND LEG. AT THE END OF THE DOWNWIND LEG, THE AIRPLANE ENTERED A CLIMBING RIGHT TURN AT WHAT WAS REPORTED TO BE A SLOWER THAT NORMAL SPEED. AFTER ABOUT 90 DEGREES OF TURN, THE ANGLE OF BANK INCREASED RAPIDLY, THE NOSE DROPPED, AND THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A STEEP DESCENT. A WITNESS REPORTED THE ENGINE WAS NOT DEVELOPING FULL POWER; HOWEVER, THIS COULD NOT BE SUBSTANTIATED. DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS ABOUT 4500 FT.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED, WHILE MANEUVERING AFTER A LOW PASS, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT STALL. THE HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS A RELATED FACTOR.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/23/1990
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City ABILENE
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79601
Event Date Year 1990
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport DYESS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DYS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 1789
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1306 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID DYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1789
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 4500
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1676
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 23 1990 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 43171
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 5:03PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N12700
NTSB Number FTW90DQG03
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name NORTH AMERICAN
Aircraft Model P-51D
Aircraft Series Identifier P-51D
Aircraft Serial Number 44-26139
Certified Max Gross Weight 8500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name D. K. PRECISON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1020 N.W. 62ND ST.
Aircraft Owner City FT. LAUDERDALE
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33309
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16
Runway Length 13600
Runway Width 300
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --