Cessna C-37 accident near Fittstown, Oklahoma, March 6, 2006
On March 6, 2006 at about 6:34 pm local time, a Cessna C-37, registered N18045, was destroyed in an accident near Fittstown, Oklahoma. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of engine power due to a cracked cylinder head. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain available to the pilot for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 6, 2006 · about 6:34 pm local time
- Place
- Fittstown, Oklahoma
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C-37 · all C-37s on the register
- Registration
- N18045 · no longer on the register · serial 364
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot (ATP) flying a 1937 vintage tailwheel-equipped airplane collided with trees and terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power shortly after departure from the pilot's private grass airstrip. The single-engine airplane was destroyed in a post impact fire. An examination of the vintage radial engine revealed a cracked cylinder head and "blow torching" through the exhaust valve port.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,002 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2005
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Warner S50A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Fittstown OK
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
- Observation at 6:29 pm from KADH, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 DFW06LA078.