Amateur-built WHITMAN W-10 accident near Wimauma, Florida, April 12, 1999
On April 12, 1999 at about 1:45 pm local time, a amateur-built WHITMAN W-10, registered N173RS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wimauma, Florida. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain a visual lookout during a forced landing resulting in an in-flight collision with a ditch and subsequent nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 12, 1999 · about 1:45 pm local time
- Place
- Wimauma, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built WHITMAN W-10 WHITMAN W-
- Registration
- N173RS · registry record · serial 001032028RS
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was in cruise flight when the airframe experienced a vibration of undetermined origin. The pilot made a forced landing to an open field and collided with a previously observed ditch, and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted.
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: 305 hours in all; 43 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 180 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 58 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 3, 1999; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 923 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAL Lakeland FL at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm from LAL, 35 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N173RS 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.