- Date
- September 28, 2019, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Morrisville, VT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5310SPitts S2
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 17, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190928023119A
- Case key
- 100353
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 landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and nose down.
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, during the landing roll, the biplane veered right. He applied left rudder and brakes, the left wingtip scraped the runway, and the biplane exited the runway to the left. He then applied more brakes to avoid a drainage ditch, and the biplane nosed down. The biplane sustained substantial damage to the lower, left wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the biplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The biplane pilot reported that, during the landing roll, the biplane veered right. He applied left rudder and brakes, the left-wing tip scrapped the runway and the biplane exited the runway to the left. He then applied more brakes to avoid a drainage ditch and the biplane nosed down. The pilot reported that the biplane sustained substantial damage to the lower, left-wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5310S
- Reported as
- Pitts S2 (B)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5004
- Built
- 1984
- Airframe hours
- 2,305
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO 540 D4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 22, 2019
- Departed
- MVL · Morrisville, VT
- Destination
- MVL · Morrisville, VT
- Airport
- MVL · Morrisville-Stowe State, runway 01, 3,700 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 79
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Waiver time limited special
- Last flight review
- October 17, 2017
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KMVL
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 21, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 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.