Amateur-built WHITTMAN FORMULA VEE accident near Pompano Beach, Florida, February 23, 1991
On February 23, 1991 at about 4:52 pm local time, a amateur-built WHITTMAN FORMULA VEE, registered N24PW, was destroyed in an accident near Pompano Beach, Florida (Pompano Beach Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S IN FLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL DUE TO INCAPACITATION RESULTING FROM UNDERLYING SEVERE HEART DISEASE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S NOT REPORTING THE HISTORY OF HYPERTENSION AND HEART PROBLEMS DURING HIS FAA MEDICAL EXAMINATION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 1991 · about 4:52 pm local time
- Place
- Pompano Beach, Florida · Pompano Beach Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built WHITTMAN FORMULA VEE WHITTMAN F
- Registration
- N24PW · no longer on the register · serial 24
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CROSSWIND TURN AFTER TAKEOFF A RADIO CALL WAS RECEIVED FROM THE PILOT IN WHICH THE PILOT IN A STRAINED VOICE CALLED PART OF THE REG. NUMBER AND THEN CEASED TRANSMITTING ABRUPTLY. WITNESSES SAW RUDDER GO FULL LEFT AT THIS TIME AND ENG. INCREASE AND DECREASE IN POWER. ACFT THEN ENTERED DESCENDING LEFT TURN WITH ACFT PITCH 45 DEGREES NOSE LOW. WINGS AND PITCH LEVELED AND ENGINE POWER INCREASED AS ACFT IMPACTED GROUND FLAT. POST CRASH EXAM. OF ACFT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF FAILURE IN STRUCTURE, FLT. CONTROLS, AND ENG. POST MORTEM EXAM REVEALED PLT HAD SEVERE HEART DISEASE AND THE MEDICAL EXAMINER STATED PLT MOST LIKELY SUFFERED VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION WHICH WOULD ALLOW ONLY 10 SECONDS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AFTER ATTACK. PLT HAD BEEN TREATED FOR HYPERTENSION AND ANGINA FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND DID NOT DECLARE THIS ON FAA MEDICAL APPLICATION. POST MORTEM TOX. TESTING INDICATED PLT WAS NOT TAKING HYPERTENSION MEDICATION PRESCRIBED BY DOCTOR.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 904 hours in all; 77 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 792 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 77 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 15, 1990; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 750 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen 1600 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 14, 4,420 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 11 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:52 pm from PMP, 1 miles away
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.
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.