- Date
- May 26, 1982, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Huntsville, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N166SPitts Special S-1S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820526019189A
- Case key
- 71127
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
The pilot reported that during flight at 1500 ft AGL, there was a violent explosive failure of the engine and black smoke entered the cockpit. He elected to land between cars on an interstate highway. He cleared over one car, but the driver of the next car about 300 ft ahead put on his brakes. The pilot maneuvered to the median, but right gear struck a bush. Subsequently, the plane flipped and came to rest in an inverted position. The driver of a passing car and a friend turned the aircraft right side up and helped the pilot out of the plane. The pilot stated that a bearing failure caused the loss of power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N166S
- Reported as
- Pitts Special S-1S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7-0124
- Airframe hours
- 142
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Daniel W. Bravenec
- Registered owner
- Daniel W. Bravenec
- Departed
- Huntsville, TX
- Destination
- Conroe, TX
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,551 total · 70 in this make and model · 2,380 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 185 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.