Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Stephens County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Breckenridge, Texas 76424
Wednesday, April 4, 2012 14:10 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness to the accident reported that the pilot announced over the radio that he was going to perform a half Cuban eight aerobatic maneuver after takeoff and then overfly the runway in the opposite direction. The witness stated that, after takeoff, the airplane entered a shallow climb to about 150 feet before it pitched up into a near vertical climb. The airplane continued the climb in an inside loop before leveling out, inverted, about 500 feet above the runway, heading in the opposite direction of the takeoff. The witness then saw the airplane's wings roll suddenly before the airplane entered a near-vertical descent. The witness described the final portion of the aerobatic maneuver as a split-S maneuver, or a descending half loop, from which the airplane did not recover before colliding with trees and terrain on a southeasterly heading. The witness stated that the airplane exploded on impact and that a postimpact fire ensued. The postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reportedly was as an experienced aerobatic pilot who had routinely performed at airshows throughout his flying career. The pilot's medical history included coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease, cataract surgery, and hypothyroidism. The autopsy was limited by the absence of most of the cardiac tissue; therefore, it could not be determined if the pilot was impaired or incapacitated by an acute coronary event during the low-altitude aerobatic maneuver.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of airplane control during a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/4/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1410 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Breckenridge |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 76424 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 324308N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0985330W |
| Event Location Airport | Stephens County Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BKD |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 1284 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1415 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BKD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1284 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.88 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KBKD 041915Z AUTO 28008KT 10SM CLR 21/07 A29 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32704 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Federal Aviation Administratio |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 13 2014 8:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N14HP |
| NTSB Number | CEN12LA227 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | GRUMMAN |
| Aircraft Model | F8F-1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 90446 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 8800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 22 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0.9 |
| Airframe Hours | 2759.6 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Breckenridge Aviation Museum |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO Box 388 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Breckenridge |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76024 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Breckenridge Aviation Museum |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO Box 388 |
| Operator City | Breckenridge |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 76024 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | BKD |
| Departure City | Breckenridge |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1410 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | BKD |
| Destination City | Breckenridge |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 13 2014 8:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 |
| Runway Length | 4998 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |