- Date
- July 27, 1986, 10:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Shelby, MT
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N155NKSteven Soper Pitts S-1T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860727035059A
- Case key
- 16839
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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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
During initial climb after takeoff from a private ranch airstrip, the acft engine quit. The plt had inadvertently left the fuel selector switch in the no. 2 position which allowed oil, normally used to produce smoke during aerial demonstrations, to enter the acft fuel system. The acft struck a tree and descended uncontrolled until impact with the ground 400 feet from the departure end of the airstrip.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N155NK
- Reported as
- Steven Soper Pitts S-1T
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- SS-186
- Airframe hours
- 50
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A3A, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Steven E. Soper
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · July 2, 1986 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- Shelby, MT
- Destination
- CTB · Cut Bank, MT
- Airport
- Benjamin Ranch, runway 25, 2,500 × 75 ft, dirt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,409 total · 1,200 in this make and model · 2,347 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CBT, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.