ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 40475
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| Date: | Saturday 18 September 1999 |
| Time: | 16:05 LT |
| Type: |  North American/Rogers P-51R Mustang |
| Owner/operator: | Gary R. Levitz/bill Rogers |
| Registration: | N57LR |
| MSN: | 87-1002 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 113 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce GRIFFON MK-58 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Reno, NV -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | (4SD) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The empennage assembly of the experimental race plane separated and the aircraft crashed during the first lap of an unlimited class heat race at the Reno National Championship Air Races. The wreckage was spread over approximately a 0.5-mile path. The first item located in the wreckage path was the lower half-span of the rudder control. Approximately 1/8 mile further along the debris path was a wreckage field about 500 feet long containing the remainder of the empennage (including the rudder trim tab), except the rudder upper half-span. The rudder upper half-span, including the mass balance, was located about 1,900 feet to the right of the debris field. When laid together, the rudder exhibited a shredded appearance through the midspan forward of the rudder trim tab location. Review of a spectator video recording taken from the rear in the seconds before the accident showed that, while the other parts of the aircraft were visible, the rudder and vertical stabilizer were not visible. The video technician opined that the disappearance of the vertical fin and rudder might have been the result of 'video smearing' if the rudder was moving rapidly and the video image recorder rate could not keep up with it. The precipitating event was not determined during extensive reconstruction and analysis of the empennage.
Probable Cause: The onset of a flutter event and the resultant separation of the rudder and empennage from the aircraft. The precipitating cause for the flutter could not be determined.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX99FA311
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 30-Mar-2012 11:54 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Phase, Nature, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 14-Dec-2017 09:03 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Apr-2024 17:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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