Wittman Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902
Tuesady, August 7, 2012 16:20 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after takeoff for a test flight, the pilot noticed that the airplane was not climbing as expected and the engine was slowly losing power. The coolant temperature was 225 degrees and the airplane was only 250 to 300 feet above ground level. During the return to the airport, the pilot heard and felt an explosion behind him and felt a burning sensation on his back. During the forced landing, the right main landing gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed that a cooling line had separated from the radiator behind the pilot during the accident flight. The examination also revealed that the radiator hose line clamp for a different cooling hose was overtightened and not seated properly in its pipe bead. A replacement engine had been installed as a result of a blown head gasket during a previous flight; however, the cooling system was not replaced, and it could not be determined when the clamp was overtightened. An examination of the remaining systems revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The separation of an engine cooling hose from the radiator.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/7/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1620
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Oshkosh
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54902
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 435906N
Event Location Longitude 0883342W
Event Location Airport Wittman Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KOSH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 808
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1618 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KOSH
Elevation of weather observation facility 808
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report SPECI KOSH 072118Z 06010KT 10SM CLR 29/18 A2991 RM
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30934
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 16 2013 5:03PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N151TA
NTSB Number CEN12LA530
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name WILLIAMS JOHN
Aircraft Model T-51 MUSTANG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number M04SV6SOHK0027
Certified Max Gross Weight 1875
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Mar 24 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAMS JOHN D
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City GENEVA
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44041-9311
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name WILLIAMS JOHN D
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City GENEVA
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 44041-9311
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 KOSH
Departure City Oshkosh
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1615
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KOSH
Destination City Oshkosh
Destination State WI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 3 2013 10:24AM
User who most recently changed record kaij
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 6179
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --