Event CEN20LA134

Factual narrative

On March 29, 2020, at 1518 central daylight time, a Muse P51D airplane, N151JD, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mesquite, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Witnesses reported that the pilot took off and turned to a right crosswind in the traffic pattern, followed shortly thereafter by a turn to downwind. The airplane then entered a gradually steepening right turn before transitioning to a steep nose down attitude which continued until impact with terrain. A review of Automated Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that the airplane entered a right traffic pattern after takeoff and leveled off about 1,800 ft mean sea level (msl) on crosswind before beginning a turn to downwind. About 1518:47, the airplane entered a descending right turn from about 1,700 ft msl. The final data point was recorded at 1518:53; the altitude was about 900 ft msl. The average descent rate over the last 6 seconds of data was approximately 8,000 ft per minute. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. However, the examination was limited by the extent of the impact and postimpact fire damage. Toxicology testing performed at the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory found no drugs of abuse. The owner/builder reported the accident occurred during the third flight of the airplane. The plan was for the pilot to conduct airwork in the local area and to gather data to assist in determining airplane fuel consumption. After the second flight, the pilot informed the builder that he had inadvertently moved the fuel selector to the OFF position while attempting to change tanks. He was able to correct the situation and had no further difficulties. A friend of the pilot reported that the pilot had cut the second flight short because continuous right rudder input was required. For the accident flight, the pilot took off with full right rudder trim to counter act the right turning tendency. Witnesses reported that the pilot took off and turned to a right crosswind in the traffic pattern, followed shortly thereafter by a turn to downwind. The airplane then entered a gradually steepening right turn before transitioning to a steep nose down attitude which continued to impact with terrain. Automated Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that the airplane entered a right traffic pattern after takeoff and leveled off about 1,800 ft mean sea level (msl) on a crosswind leg before beginning a turn to a downwind leg. The airplane subsequently entered a steep, descending right turn until impact. The average descent rate over the last 6 seconds of the flight was about 6,000 ft per minute. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and the postaccident fire. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. However, the examination was limited by the extent of the impact and postimpact fire damage. For the accident flight, the pilot had planned to proceed to the practice area to conduct airwork; however, he elected to remain in the airport traffic pattern for unknown reasons. Full right rudder trim was set before takeoff in order to counteract engine torque. Based on the available information, the pilot inadvertently entered an aerodynamic stall from which he was unable to recover. The yaw induced by the full right rudder trim aggravated the stall and made recovery more difficult. The reason for the loss of control could not be determined with the available information. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
• — Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained