North American F-51 accident near Denton, Texas, September 6, 1989
On September 6, 1989 at about 9:24 pm local time, a North American F-51, registered N51VP, was destroyed in an accident near Denton, Texas (Denton Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO DETECT WATER IN THE FUEL SYSTEM DURING THE PREFLIGHT WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY RESULTED IN A LOSS OF POWER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 1989 · about 9:24 pm local time
- Place
- Denton, Texas · Denton Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- North American F-51 · all F-51s on the register
- Registration
- N51VP · no longer on the register · serial 44-73142
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT TAXIED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE DEPARTURE RUNWAY AND PERFORMED A NORMAL PRE-TAKEOFF RUN UP. THE AIRCRAFT WAS VIEWED BY NUMEROUS PILOTS TO DEPART TO THE SOUTH AND MAKE A NORMAL RIGHT CLIMBING TURN. DURING THE CLIMB TO THE SOUTHWEST, THE WITNESSES HEARD THE ENGINE SURGE AND STOP. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SEEN TO LEVEL AND DESCEND AS IT CONTINUED THE RIGHT TURN BACK TOWARD THE AIRPORT. IT WAS OBSERVED TO STALL AT APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET AGL PRIOR TO IMPACTING INTO THE OPEN FIELD ADJACENT THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT HAD NOT SUMPED THE FUEL SYSTEM DURING THE AIRCRAFT PRE-FLIGHT. WATER WAS FOUND IN THE FUEL SYSTEM AND POWERPLANT DURING THE INVESTIGATION.
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: 30,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 20,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 14,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce V-1650-9A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 99°F (37°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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 FTW89DPA04.