- Date
- September 2, 2025, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Danbury, CT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N742MAPitts S-1T
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 15, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250902020639A
- Case key
- 202328
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout, which resulted in a ground loop.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane was landing, and stated that during the landing rollout, while decelerating, the airplane veered to the right and ground looped. The airplane’s left wingtip contacted the runway surface during the ground loop and was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N742MA
- Reported as
- Pitts S-1T
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1005
- Built
- 1982
- Airframe hours
- 1,135
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-360-A1, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · March 5, 2025 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- DYL · Doylestown, PA
- Destination
- ASH · Nashua, NH
- Airport
- DXR · Danbury Muni, runway 08, 4,421 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 9, 2024
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 643 total · 122 in this make and model · 578 as pilot in command · 68 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- KDXR
- METAR
- KDXR 021453Z 07007KT 10SM CLR 22/11 A3019 RMK AO2 SLP219 T02220106 58008
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 15, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.