- Date
- October 6, 1988, 09:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- San Benito, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3SShamgaugh Pitts Special
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881006044749A
- Case key
- 22738
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
Improper torquing of the 'b' nut fitting on the main fuel supply line to the powerplant at the firewall and the pilot's inadequate pre-flight inspection.
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 flight, the engine lost power & the pilot tried to glide the airplane to an airport, but was unable. He selected a field for an emergency landing; however, during the landing, the airplane encountered rough terrain & was damaged. An investigation revealed that a fuel line had separated at the fire wall, which resulted in the loss of power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3S
- Reported as
- Shamgaugh Pitts Special (PITTS SPEC)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 200
- Airframe hours
- 502
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-A, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Shelton Prudhomme
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 29, 1989 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- T66
- Airport
- T66
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 300 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.