- Date
- July 17, 2026, 18:11 local (22:11 UTC)
- Place
- Porter Center, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7RNChristen Industries Pitts S-2
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 1, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 203430
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 roll.
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 reported that while giving rides, the airplane touched down and the right main landing gear contacted taller grass adjacent to the runway. The airplane ground looped to the right and exited the right side of the runway. During the ground loop, the left wing and elevator struck the ground. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the upper and lower left wing, left elevator, and empennage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7RN
- Reported as
- Christen Industries Pitts S-2 (B)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5098
- Built
- 1986
- Airframe hours
- 406.3
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-540 SER, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Afs Aero LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Aerobatic
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 63NY · Windshear, runway 18/36, 3,153 × 60 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 2,700 total · 2,700 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- IAG, 9 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KIAG 172153Z 24009KT 8SM CLR 27/10 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP162 T02720100 $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 1, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB in all.