Amateur-built 3/4 SPITFIRE accident near Bartlesville, Oklahoma, April 9, 1982
On April 9, 1982 at about 3:30 pm local time, a amateur-built 3/4 SPITFIRE, registered N140SF, was destroyed in an accident near Bartlesville, Oklahoma (Frank Phillips 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 9, 1982 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bartlesville, Oklahoma · Frank Phillips · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built 3/4 SPITFIRE 3/4 SPITFI
- Registration
- N140SF · registry record · serial OK-1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING INITIAL CLIMB ON THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT, THE ENGINE FAILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LANDED OFF THE AIRPORT AND DEMOLISHED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE FUEL PUMP DRIVE DESIGNED BY THE BUILDER HAD FAILED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,564 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 2,386 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Jaguar V-12 360HP (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: K92 Bartlesville OK at 10:30 am
- Destination: K92 Bartlesville OK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 11 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N140SF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.