# Accident 20011219038869A: Aviat PITTSS1S, Orlando, FL, December 19, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 19, 2001, 12:30 local time
- Place: Orlando, FL
- Airport: Orlando Sanford Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.2398° N, 81.0602° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.2398&lon=-81.0602&mi=10
- Aircraft: N522H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N522H-2005-07-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Heverling John Leo PITTS S-1S (registry code 05605P1, https://openairdocs.org/model/heverling-john-leo-pitts-s-1s) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming AEIO-360 series (registry code 41522, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-aeio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AVIAT PITTSS1S
- Reported engine: LYC AEIO360*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 16,800 total, 205 in this make and model, 120 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL02LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02LA018) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011219038869A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4) ON DECEMBER 19, 2001, ABOUT 1230 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PITTS S-1S, N522H, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE OWNER, NOSED OVER DURING LANDING ROLL AT ORLANDO SANFORD AIRPORT IN SANFORD, FLORIDA. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 WITH NO FLIGHT PLAN FILED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE LOCAL FLIGHT DEPARTED ORLANDO SANFORD AIRPORT ABOUT 1150. THE PILOT EXECUTED A DOWNWIND APPROACH AND TOUCHED DOWN ON RUNWAY 9 CENTER. THE PILOT STATED, DURING LANDING ROLL AT 10 MILES PER HOUR, A TAILWIND PICKED UP THE TAIL OF THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE'S PROPELLER STRUCK THE GROUND, AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER AND CAME TO REST INVERTED ON THE RUNWAY. A REVIEW OF WEATHER OBSERVATION DATA FOR THE AIRPORT INDICATED AT 1253, WINDS WERE REPORTED FROM 260 DEGREES MAGNETIC AT 10 KNOTS. INITIAL EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE PROPELLER AND SPINNER WERE DAMAGED, THE TOP WING SPAR SUPPORT MEMBERS WERE BENT, ONE OUTBOARD WING SPAR WAS BROKEN, THE TOP RUDDER BOW WAS BENT WITH WRINKLING OF THE FUSELAGE AT THE BASE OF THE FIN, THE LEADING EDGE OF THE TOP WING SHOWED CRACKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FUEL TANK, AND THE ENGINE MOUNTS WERE DISPLACED. (-23) ON WEDNESDAY 19 DECEMBER, 2001 AT 12:05 EST, MR. JOHN L. HEVERLING, HOLDER OF PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER 1504710, WAS FLYING HIS AMATEUR BUILT PITTS S-1S AIRPLANE AT THE ORLANDO SANFORD AIRPORT. MR. HEVERLINE EXECUTED A NORMAL APPROACH TO A LANDING ON RUNWAY 9 CENTER. AFTER TOUCHDOWN DURING THE LANDING ROLL-OUT, HE LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AND FLIPPED THE AIRPLANE OVER ONTO ITS BACK (UPSIDE-DOWN). THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WITH NO INJURY TO THE PILOT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL02LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02LA018), Dec 19, 2001: Pitts S-1S (N522H), Sanford, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing roll in a tailwind, which resulted in a nose-over on the runway.

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.

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