- Date
- July 20, 1986, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bridgeville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9BBBrown Pitts Special
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860720034299A
- Case key
- 24978
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
Witnesses reported the plt made 4 or 5 low passes over the rwy prior to the accident. During each pass the acft was rolled inverted, the eng would quit and the plt would roll the acft upright. On the last pass, according to witnesses, the eng quit again, the acft stalled and collided with the terrain during a turn back toward the arpt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9BB
- Reported as
- Brown Pitts Special (PITTS SPEC)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- S-1
- Airframe hours
- 466
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kenneth A. Harding
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 15, 1986
- Departed
- Q95 · Ruth, CA
- Airport
- Q95 · Ruth, runway 13, 3,170 × 45 ft, macadam
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 440 total · 77 in this make and model · 410 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.