P-51 Mustang Accidents

P-51 Accidents 1964-present

NTSB# Date Registry Serial # Injuries     Location     Probable Cause   DFW08CA202 2008-09-26 N551W 44-14985 n     Tulsa OK     loss of control - take off   CHI07FA243A 2007-07-30 N8082U Beck-311 1f     Oshkosh WI     landing collision   CHI07FA243B 2007-07-30 N151RJ 44-74404 n     Oshkosh WI     landing collision   SEA07LA196 2007-07-15 N51TK 44-63350 1f     Camarillo CA     loss of control, torque roll, on go-around   LAX06CA047 2005-12-07 N251BP 44-84753 n     Minden NV     hard landing   CHI05FA197 2005-07-26 N6327T 44-74417 1f     Malone WI     stall / spin   CHI05LA177 2005-07-09 N10607 44-74466 1s     Tarkio MO     engine failure on takeoff   CHI03LA074 2004-04-28 N93TF 44-72922 1f     Urbana IN     stall / spin   SEA03LA202 2003-07-03 N2869D 44-84390 n     Jerome ID     engine overheat   ATL01LA103 2001-09-06 N551CB 45-11381 1m 1s     Denver NC     engine failure - overheat   NRPT091900 2000-09-19 N20TF 67-14866 n     Sugarland TX     engine failure   LAX99FA311 1999-09-18 N57LR 87-1002 1f     Reno NV     structural failure during air race   CHI97LA284 1997-09-06 N6345T 44-63507 2f     Monroe MI     collant leak / engine failure   ATL96LA046 1996-02-12 N551MR 45-11453 1m     Palm City FL     fuel starvation / bad carb adjustment   NYC95LA138 1995-07-02 N51KF 45-11371 1f     Malone NY     accelerated stall   CHI95LA064 1994-12-29 N51TK 44-63350 1m     Round Lake IL     fuel stavation   LAX95LA021 1994-10-28 N4451C 44-74444 n     Victorville CA     loss of control - crosswind landing   LAX94LA361 1994-09-12 N51U 44-74204 1f     Reno NV     prop seal failure during air race   LAX94LA178 1994-04-04 N1451D 44-74446 n     Chino CA     engine failure - crossed oil / coolant lines   CHI93LA294A 1993-07-28 N6327T 44-74417 n     Fond Du Lac WI     taxi collision   LAX93LA047 1992-11-21 N117E 44-73832 1f     Wellington NV     roll with insufficient altitude   NYC90DNA05 1990-09-29 N51U 44-74204 2f     Chatham MA     accelerated stall after low pass   CHI90DER02 1990-07-18 N512ED 44-74600 2f     Mayer MN     undetermined   SEA90LA136 1990-07-14 NX51VC 44-74502 n     Seattle WA     vortex turbulence   FTW90DQG03 1990-06-23 N12700 44-72446 1f     Abilene TX     stall - climbing turn   FTW90DRA02 1990-01-24 N5483V 44-73518 1s     Galveston TX     fuel starvation / bad weather   LAX90LA045A 1989-12-03 N5415V 45-11553 n     Van Nuys CA     taxi collistion w/ C-172   FTW89DPA04 1989-09-06 N51VP 44-73142 1f 1m     Denton TX     engine failure - water in fuel   LAX89FA295 1989-09-02 N51MR 44-73163 2s     Mar Vista CA     low engine power   LAX89LA173 1989-04-25 N151D 44-72777 n     Travis AFB CA     gear unlocked / collapsed on landing   CHI89DET03 1989-04-11 N51TK 44-63350 n     Fort Wayne IN     loss of control - crosswind take off   NYC88DGT01 1988-03-07 N51WE 44-11153 1f     State College PA     engine problems, bad wx, rising terrain   CHI88LA021B 1987-11-07 N6341T 44-74774 n     Detroit MI     taxi collision w/ PA-28   CHI87DEM09 1987-06-26 N3287D 44-73216 2f     Ludington MI     non-recovery from low-altitude roll   MKC81FC020 1987-06-17 N5428V 44-73264 2m/n     Council Bluffs IA     ground loop - crosswind gusts to 40 knots   LAX87DVW01 1987-04-03 N1451D 44-74446 1m     Ashfork AZ     engine failure   LAX85LA392 1985-09-14 N10607 44-74466 n     Reno NV     gusty crosswind during   LAX85LA343 1985-08-06 N6175C 45-11558 n     Van Nuys CA     loss of control - take off   CHI85FA050 1984-11-17 N51JL 44-73849 2f     New Haven MI     low pass - hit wire   LAX84LA441B 1984-08-18 N65206 44-74458 n     Madera CA     landing roll collision   DEN84FA222 1984-07-15 N5449V 44-73196 2f     Carbondale CO     spin - aerobatics   CHI84LA275 1984-07-01 N21770 n     Indianapolis IN     hard landing   FTW83LA019 1982-10-23 N11T 44-74425 2n     Piedmont OK     engine failure   LAX83DA349 1982-09-18 N151DM 44-72483 n     Reno NV     engine failure during air race   LAX82DXQ13 1982-09-11 N51JW 45-11546 2f     Elko NV     roll with insufficient altitude   DEN81FTC16 1981-06-06 N5471V 45-11381 2m/n     Casper WY     engine failure - land short of runway   MIA80FA019 1979-12-16 N7711C 44-72936 2f     Eufaula AL     low level aerobatics - bad weather   LAX79FXQ37 1979-09-16 N7715C 44-84961 1m/n     Reno NV     engine failure during air race   LAX79FUM25 1979-08-21 N332 44-74204 1f     Nsalton City CA     structural failure - rudder   OAK78FXQ48 1978-09-16 N49WB 44-64415 1m/n     Reno NV     propeller failure during air race   SEA77FYE12 1977-03-19 N6526D 44-73415 2f     Olympia WA     loss of control - take off   FTW76FQH03 1976-08-21 N38228 44-84660 2f     Big Spring TX     stall / spin in traffic pattern   FTW76FQG31 1975-10-15 CF-USA 44-74850 1f     Carlsbad TX     loss of control - thunderstorm   FTW76FQG32 1975-10-15 N651D 44-73857 2f     Carlsbad TX     loss of control - thunderstorm   NYC75AN116 1975-06-08 N76AF 44-74008 1f     Edgartown MA     stall / spin aerobatics   OAK75FVM12 1974-11-10 N11T 44-74425 3m/n     Half Moon Bay CA     taxi collision   NYC75AN046 1974-10-13 N5412V 44-73586 1f     Chatham PA     undetermined - IFR climb   FTW74FQG17 1973-09-24 N2051D 44-73454 1m/n     Midland TX     ground loop - landing, gear collapse   OAK73FVG65 1973-06-09 N2872D 45-11620 2f     Clearlake Oak CA     stall / spin after low pass   DEN73AD049 1973-05-17 N5461V 44-73210 1f     Fort Collins CO     stall / spin - power loss   MIA73FKG68 1973-04-08 N469P 44-73240 2f     Atlanta GA     loss of control - crosswind landing, go around   MIA73FKG54 1972-12-30 N9149R 44-74441 2f     Flowery Branch GA     stall / spin   MIA72FKH10 1972-06-03 N6303T 44-63481 1f     Indian Springs GA     structural failure   LAX72FUG36 1971-11-26 N3333E 44-63893 4m/n     Chino CA     taxi collision   LAX72FUQ15 1971-08-25 N511D 44-74950 2f     Palmdale CA     structural failure - aerobatics   FTW71FPG43 1971-03-24 N6302T 44-73216 2f     Hot Springs AR     stall / spin - after power loss   FTW71FRG39 1970-10-23 N130JT 44-74435 2s     Rockport TX     misjudged landing - prop stuck in flat pitch   OAK71FXQ16 1970-09-18 N79111 44-15651 1m/n     Reno NV     engine failure during air race   OAK71FVD05 1970-08-16 N5410V 44-74996 1s 1m     Concord CA     engine failure - traffic pattern   LAX70F0063 1969-08-02 N6320T 44-74497 nf     Lancaster CA     fuel starvation   MIA69F0111 1968-08-10 N6168C 44-73704 1n     Sarasota FL     carb problems - low power   MIA69F0051 1968-07-05 N6311T 44-73435 1m/n     Daytona Beach FL     engine failure - low pass   CHI68F0740 1968-04-21 N2114 1s 1m     Springfiled IL     gear up landing   DIA68F0188 1968-03-21 N3751D 44-73206 1n     Frederick MD     gear up landing   OAK68D0196 1967-10-29 N5466V 44-74230 2n     Fresno CA     gear up landing   DEN68A0016 1967-09-03 N2871D 45-11367 1f     Minden NE     bad weather   CHI68F0229 1967-09-02 N6836C 44-72767 2n     Auburn IN     gear up landing   MIA67F0550 1967-05-14 N6172C 44-73454 nf     Jacksonville FL     gear up landing   MKC67F0525 1967-04-06 N169MD 44-74829 1s 1m     Des Moines IA     engine failure - at night   CHI67D0667 1967-04-04 N6165U 44-84634 nf     Hartford WI     ground loop   MIA68F0014 1967-03-16 N6175C 45-11558 nf     Cleremont GA     engine failure - at cruise   MIA67F0291 1966-10-02 N13410 44-63507 nf     Chamblee GA     engine fire on final approach   OAK67F0258 1966-08-28 N6302T 44-73216 nf     San Jose CA     taxi collision   CHI67F0183 1966-08-04 N6327T 44-74417 nf     Fort Wayne IN     taxi collision   NYC66A0117 1966-04-17 N551D 45-11489 1 Fatal     Lincoln VA     stall / spin   CHI67F0113 1966-03-20 N2112 44-74756 nf     Wheeling IL     take off run collision   LAX66F0178 1965-11-04 N5480V 44-73129 1m     Santa Monica CA     ground loop - tailwheel failure   DEN66D0099 1965-08-21 N6322T 44-72990 nf     Grand Junction CO     gear collapse - takeoff   CHI65F0142 1965-04-11 N12065 44-73428 nf     Madison WI     gear collapse - hard landing   LAX65F0023 1965-02-23 N2871D 45-11367 nf     Goleta CA     ground loop - landing roll   UNK061564 1964-06-15 N1451D 44-74446 5f     Roseburg OR     loss of control - bad weather   UNK082364 0964-08-23 N8678E 2f     Torrance CA     stall / spin

The purpose of providing these links to accident reports is to help prevent future incidents by educating pilots and crew. It is evident that some of the same things keep happening although there has been a decline.

Some causes of P-51 accidents would not be a big issue in other aircraft. Fuel management, airspeed control, and taxiing visibility come to mind. There is not much of a buffer for mistakes in the P-51. Years ago, I was on a go-around in the right seat of a Piper Saratoga when the pilot ran the left tank dry and the engine stopped when we were at 200' AGL past midfield almost to the airport boundary. Luckily he got a restart before we began trimming trees with a windmilling prop. In a P-51, such a mistake would be deadly. Other factors like weather, fuel exhaustion and mechanical problems are not particular to the P-51.

Mechanical problems happen to all aircraft, but the old engines of the 1940's were not built for use over many years like today's engines. They were built for the highest performance and require closer and more frequent attention. If done so, they are dependable. Mechanics have learned much about these old engines over the years. Even so, they break. Most mechanical failures end up in off airport gear up "landings" . They are usually successful. The pilot gets to walk away with a few cuts and scapes and a bent airplane.

But one the most recent accidents began when a P-51 was cruising on top, then developed an overheated / seized engine - one of warbird pilot's worst nightmares - a deadstick descent through a cloud layer, close to the ground. Luckily, they bailed out safely with only 1200' to work with. The P-51 was a total loss.

There have been cases where the pilot has lost an engine and tried to turn too close to the ground with not enough airspeed. This seems to be one of the biggest problems in the P-51 (and I'm not a P-51 pilot) - maintaining sufficient airspeed during low-level maneuvers. Even with higher speeds during certain maneuvers, accelerated stalls have happened. There just is no way to recover in time.

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We as pilots must know the limitations of ourselves and our aircraft. Many good pilots and good friends have been lost. Even if pilots were perfect, there would still be accidents beyond our control. Perhaps we can stop the ones within our control.