- Date
- August 3, 1985, 16:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Van Nuys, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N88MPitts S-2A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850803036919A
- Case key
- 24793
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
After practicing acrobatics the plt returned to the arpt for the purpose of practicing landings. He made the first one successfully, but flared out high on the second landing. The acft bounced 'hard' on the rwy twice, & the plt elected to go around. After applying eng power, the acft drifted left, overflew the runway's edge & collided with a sign. The plt continued with the go around & landed without further mishap. The plt reported having 354 total flight hours of which 11.7 were logged as PIC in the pitts model of acft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88M
- Reported as
- Pitts S-2A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2131
- Airframe hours
- 1,539
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO360A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Alpha Aviation, Inc., doing business as Alpha Air
- Registered owner
- Allan Berenstein
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1985 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- VNY · Van Nuys, CA
- Destination
- VNY · Van Nuys, CA
- Airport
- VNY · Van Nuys, runway 16L, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 24
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 354 total · 28 in this make and model · 250 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VNY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.