# Accident 19991223044921A: Pitts S2B, Santa Ana, CA, December 23, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 23, 1999, 12:14 local time - Place: Santa Ana, CA - Airport: John Wayne Airport-Orange Cou - Damage: Minor damage - Collision: Midair collision, first aircraft - Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.7368° N, 117.8829° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Santa Ana, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.7368&lon=-117.8829&mi=10 - Aircraft: N87WY, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N87WY) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Pitts Aerobatics S-2B (registry code 7220450, https://openairdocs.org/model/pitts-aerobatics-s-2b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming AEIO-540 series (registry code 41568, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-aeio-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PITTS S2B - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 800 total, 350 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991223044921A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.4)ON DECEMBER 23, 1999, AT 1214 HOURS PST, A PITTS S-2B BIPLANE, N87WY, COLLIDED WITH A PIPER PA-28R-201, N43793, WHILE TAXING FOR TAKEOFF FROM A TEE HANGER AREA AT THE SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. THE PIPER PA-28R-201 WAS HOLDING SHORT OF A TAXIWAY AT THE HOLD LINE WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURRED. THE PITTS S-2B, OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. THE PIPER, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTABTIAL DAMAGE. NEITHER PRIVATE PILOT IN THE PITTS S-2B NOT THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT IN THE PIPER PA-28R WAS INJURED. THE LOCAL AREA PERSONAL FLIGHTS WERE BEING OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLANS WERE FILED. A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR FROM THE LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE RESPONDED TO THE SCENE AND INTERVIEWED THE PILOTS. THE PITTS PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS BETWEEN A TEE HANGER ROW WHEN HE HAD BEEN CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF. HE SAID HE WAS PERFORMING S-TURNS FOR FORWARD VISIBILITY WHILE TAXING. DURING THE SECOND S-TURN, HE CONTACTED THE LEFT WING AND FUSELAGE OF THE PIPER, CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PIPER PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS AT THE END OF A TEE HANGER ROWS HOLDING SHORT OF AN ACTIVE TAXIWAY AWAITING A CLEARANCE FROM GROUND CONTROL, AND DID NOT SEE THE PITTS UNTIL COLLISION. A GROUND WITNESS WAS STANDING ON THE RAMP AT THE END OF A TEE HANGER ROW OFF THE RIGHT WING OF THE PIPER. HE STATED THAT THE PIPER WAS STATIONARY AND THE PITTS TAXIED UP FROM BEHIND AND TRIED TO CUT BETWEEN THE PIPER AND A TEE HANGER. THE WITNESS SAID HE HAD TO RUN FROM HIS LOCATION OUT OF THE PATH OF THE PITTS TO KEEP FROM BEING HIT. THE PITTS PILOT FAILED TO SIGN FOR A REGISTERED LETTER FROM THE SAFETY BOARD REQUESTING THE FILING OF A NTSB FORM 6120.1/2, PILOT/OPERATOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT. (-23)ON DECEMBER 23, 1999, AT 1214 PST, AT JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT, THE OPERATOR OF A PITTS S-2B, N87WY, TAXIED INTO A PIPER ARROW, PA-28R-201, N43793. ^PRIVACY DAT^, PIC OF THE PITTS,STATED THAT HE WAS CLEARED TO TAKEOFF AND STARTED HIS TAXI. HE STATED THAT UPON HIS SECOND S-TURN HE CLIPPED THE LEFT SIDE AND WING OF THE PIPER. ^PRIVACY DATA^ STATED THAT HE DID NOT SEE THE PIPER. ^PRIVACY D^, OWNER AND PIC OF THE PIPER ARROW, STATED THAT HE WAS INSTRUCTED TO HOLD SHORT AT THE HOLD SHORT LINE OF TAXIWAY GOLF. ^PRIVACY D^ STATED THAT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR THE PITTS TO GO AROUND HIM ON HIS LEFT SIDE. THE PITTS SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE ON ITS RIGHT WING TIP, PROPELLER, AND AIR INTAKE. THE PIPER HAD SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE ON THE LEFT WING FROM THE MIDDLE OF ITS TRAILING EDGE TO THE CENTER OF THE WING. THE LEFT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE WAS BUCKLED IN FRONT OF THE ELEVATOR AND PUSHED OUT SLIGHTLY IN FRONT OF THE LEFT WING. THIS ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED. ## Other aircraft in the event - N43793, Piper PA28R201: [Accident 19991223044922A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991223044922A) ## NTSB investigation None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.