History of Flight
On November 17, 2018, at about 1515 central standard time, a North American P-51D airplane, N4132A, was destroyed when it impacted an apartment parking lot while maneuvering near Fredericksburg, Texas. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to Pea Hochso LLC and was operated by the pilot as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which originated about 1459 from Gillespie County Airport (T82), Fredericksburg, Texas.
The purpose of the flight was to perform a flyover of a World War II educational presentation and reenactment. One witness reported that the airplane made a low-level pass and climbed out. As the airplane entered a right bank, it started to "drop." Trees blocked the witness's view, and he "waited for the aircraft to climb out of the dive"; however, the airplane did not reappear from behind the trees. Another witness reported that, following a "very low" pass, the airplane entered a climb, then "all of a sudden he did a roll." The airplane made a slight turn, then entered a vertical nose-down attitude and disappeared from view.
Personnel Information
The 73-year-old pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single- and multiengine land and instrument airplane. He also held an authorization to operate the P-51. On December 5, 2017, the pilot was issued a special issuance second-class FAA airman medical certificate, with the limitation: "Must wear corrective lenses. Limited Second Class/full Third-Class privileges. Not valid for carrying passengers or cargo for compensation except if serving as pilot of fully qualified 2-pilot crew. Not valid for any class after 12/31/2018." The pilot reported on the application that he had accumulated 4,000 total hours of flight experience with 60 hours in the previous 6 months. A review of his FAA airman certification information revealed practical test failures, a certificate suspension for violation of airspace, and a pilot deviation in July 2014, during which the pilot failed to comply with air traffic control instructions. The pilot completed reexamination flights, including one in February 2015.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane, serial number 122-40985, was an all-metal, laminar flow, low-wing monoplane. It was powered by a twelve-cylinder, overhead cam, liquid-cooled, V-type, supercharged, Rolls Royce V-1650-7 engine, serial number V-331281. According to logbook entries, an annual inspection was completed on March 8, 2018. As of that inspection, the airplane had accumulated 1,812.9 hours of total time.
Meteorological Information
At 1515, the recorded weather at T82, about 2.5 miles from the accident site, included wind from 190° at 11 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; broken clouds at 3,900 ft above ground level; temperature 20°C; dew point 10°C; altimeter 30.04 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane wreckage came to rest in a parking lot northeast of T82. Linear witness marks were found on the ground under the leading edges of the wings. The leading edges of both wings exhibited aft crushing. Red and green colored media consistent with glass was found near each wing's respective separated navigation light holder. The engine and propeller were found buried about 5 ft in the ground. The rear section of the engine separated from its front section. The engine's compressor blades were intact. Three of the four propeller blades separated from the propeller hub and exhibited chordwise abrasion; nearby pavement exhibited a witness mark consistent with a propeller strike. One separated propeller blade exhibited leading edge gouges. The propeller blade remaining attached to the hub could not be rotated by hand. The empennage separated from the fuselage forward of the tailwheel and came to rest inverted on parked cars about 68 ft and 310° from the engine. The fuselage and cockpit were fragmented in a debris path between the engine and empennage. Flight and engine control continuity could not be established due to impact damage; however, all observed separations exhibited features consistent with overload. The magneto switch was fragmented; its face plate indicated it was in the "both" position. The fuel valve was found in the debris path. Some fuel lines were separated from the valve body. The fuel bladders were found breached. No preimpact anomalies with the engine or airframe were found. An Appareo Stratus unit was found damaged in the wreckage; it did not contain nonvolatile memory. A GoPro camera was found within the debris field. A micro secure data (SD) card was not present in the camera but was subsequently located during recovery; the card was damaged and no data could be retrieved.
Additional Information
According to a representative of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, the accident pilot began flying in support of the foundation's Living History Program (LHP) in September 2017 and had participated in 9 of the 38 shows since that time. The program, which intended to educate the public about World War II, included a reenactment of a beach landing on a Pacific island. The purpose of the P-51 overflight was to "add the aviation element to the show to increase the educational value." The representative stated that the accident pilot ran a charity that provided veterans with flights in his P-51. The pilot typically flew with a veteran in the rear seat when participating in LHP demonstrations. When discussing the flyover on the day of the accident, the pilot and the LHP director discussed "all pertinent FAA requirements, including the 1,000-ft minimum-safe altitude." The flyover flight path was in front of the amphitheater and over the performance area, normally west to east. The pilot would take off about 15 minutes before his scheduled first flyover. About 1 minute before the simulated island invasion, the LHP director would radio the pilot and give him the "ok" to make the first pass. The airplane normally made 4 to 5 passes during the reenactment.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot was performed by Central Texas Autopsy, PLLC, Lockhart, Texas. The autopsy indicated that the pilot's cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of death was accident. Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified 15 mg/dL ethanol in arm muscle and none in thigh muscle. Ethanol is primarily a social drug with a powerful central nervous system depressant. After absorption, ethanol is quickly distributed throughout the body's tissues and fluids fairly uniformly. Ethanol may also be produced in the body after death. Given the toxicology findings, it is likely the ethanol was produced postmortem. In 2002, the pilot reported having coronary artery disease to the FAA; he had a stent placed in his left anterior descending coronary artery and underwent angioplasty of the first diagonal. At the time of his last medical certificate exam, he reported having high blood pressure and using aspirin to prevent a heart attack, and atorvastatin and ezetimibe to control his cholesterol. These drugs are not considered impairing. The pilot had a cardiology evaluation, including a stress test that did not identify any ischemia, in September 2017. No significant abnormalities were identified on the physical exam.