North American F-51D accident near Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 11, 1989
On April 11, 1989 at about 2:45 pm local time, a North American F-51D, registered N51TK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fort Wayne, Indiana (Fort Wayne Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRCRAFT CONTROL DURING THE CROSSWIND TAKEOFF. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PREMATURE LIFT OFF AND THE CROSSWIND CONDITION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 11, 1989 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Wayne, Indiana · Fort Wayne Municipal
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- North American F-51D · all F-51Ds on the register
- Registration
- N51TK · registry record · serial 44-63350
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 839 hours in all; 114 in this make and model; 640 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,579 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce V-1650-7 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: 5B2 Saratoga Spring NY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 pm from FWA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N51TK the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI89DET03.