- Date
- August 8, 1987, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lancaster, OH
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N52LAAllen Pitts Special S-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 25, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870808042949A
- Case key
- 7237
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
N52LA was being flown in a 2-acft acrobatic demonstration (demo). After takeoff, the plts bgn the demo by passing each other in a low alt knife edge maneuver over the rwy. After passing, they rolled inverted, until near the ends of the rwy, then rolled upright & bgn a steep climb. One witness stated that when N52LA was in the climb, he 'heard some missing from the engine.' Rprtdly, the acft then stalled, entered a vertical dscnt & bgn spinning. It impacted the gnd nr the dep end of rwy 10. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd drg the investigation. The plt possessed a valid statement of acrobatic competency & had performed in a number of airshows in the previous 3 yrs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52LA
- Reported as
- Allen Pitts Special S-1 (PITTS SPEC)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 329H
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- James Paul King
- Registered owner
- James Paul King
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 31, 1987
- Airport
- I15 · Fairfield, runway 10, 5,019 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,394 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 88 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.