- Date
- May 29, 1988, 10:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- El Paso, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5333NAerotek Pitts S2S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880529016289A
- Case key
- 22464
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
Pilot's failure to complete the aerobatic maneuver in a manner which insured adequate terrain clearance at the termination.
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 plt was on an aerobatic demonstration flt. As he was completing an over-the-top maneuver, the acft hit the ground at high speed, then tumbled into a lake before coming to rest. Witnesses rprtd that the plt had been consistently terminating his maneuvers at a very low altitude throughout the demonstration.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5333N
- Reported as
- Aerotek Pitts S2S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1015
- Airframe hours
- 669
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sears, Robert A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 12, 1988 · 9 hours before
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
- 29
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 828 total · 7 in this make and model · 723 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ELP, 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.