# NTSB MIA05LA106: Pitts S1S, N5WD, Lake Wales, FL, May 21, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 21, 2005, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Lake Wales, FL - Coordinates: 27.885555, -81.60083 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.8856&lon=-81.6008&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report September 13, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 61539 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA05LA106 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61539/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA05LA106 ## Probable cause Improper maintenance inspection by other maintenance personnel, which resulted in a loose fuel line fitting going undetected, a fuel leak onto exhaust piping, and a fire. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Fire, standing - engine(s) not operating - maintenance,inspection - improper, other maintenance personnel (cause) - fuel system,line fitting - loose - fluid,fuel - leak ## Analysis The pilot stated while in flight about 6,500 feet, near his departure airport, as he was maneuvering he smelled fuel, and felt a spray of fuel on his leg. He immediately dove the airplane and landed uneventfully. After taxiing to parking, and upon securing the engine, the airplane suddenly became engulfed with flames. Postcrash examination of the airplane revealed that a fuel line had become loose and had detached from the fuel servo fitting while inflight. According to the pilot, post-crash examination of the airplane revealed that a fuel line that had become loose and had detached from the fuel servo fitting while inflight. He said that while the propeller was turning, the slipstream kept the fuel away from the exhaust piping, however, once the engine was secured, the fuel leaked on to the exhaust piping and a fire had erupted. The pilot said that the airplane's logbook showed that it had last received an inspection, and had been returned to service on January 20, 2005. He also said purchased the airplane on May 17, 2005, and had only flown it for about 3 or 4 hours. ## Factual narrative On May 21, 2005, about 1400 eastern standard time, a Pitts S1S experimental/amateur-built, N5WD, registered to and operated by a private Individual, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, caught on fire while being secured following a flight at Lake Wales, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airline transport-rated pilot received minor injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight originated from Lake Wales Suzanne Air Strip, Lake Wales, Florida, earlier that day, about 1315. The pilot stated while in flight about 6,500 feet, near his departure airport, as he was maneuvering he smelled fuel, and felt a spray of fuel on his leg. He immediately dove the airplane and landed uneventfully. After taxiing to parking, and upon securing the engine, the airplane suddenly became engulfed with flames. He exited the airplane and ran for a fire extinguisher, eventually extinguishing the fire. Damage to the airplane included the fuselage aft of the firewall as well as the upper and lower right wing. According to the pilot, post-crash examination of the airplane revealed that a fuel line that had become loose and had detached from the fuel servo fitting while inflight. He said that while the propeller was turning, the slipstream kept the fuel away from the exhaust piping, however, once the engine was secured, the fuel leaked on to the exhaust piping and a fire had erupted. The pilot stated that the airplane's logbook reflected that it had last received an inspection, and had been returned to service on January 20, 2005. He further stated that he purchased the airplane on May 17, 2005, and had only flown it for about 3 or 4 hours since having purchased it. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5WD](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5WD), registered now, S/N 105D, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Pitts S1S - Registry model: [Dodd William J PITTS S-1-S](https://openairdocs.org/model/dodd-william-j-pitts-s-1-s) (registry code 7220698) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 105D - Airframe hours: 59 - Engines: Lycoming O&VO-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Eric C. Hinshaw - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, January 1, 2005, 64 hours before - Departed: X25, Lake Wales, FL - Destination: X25 - Airport: X25, Chalet Suzanne Air Strip, runway 18, 2,313 × 50 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: minor; airline transport, flight instructor, flight engineer; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2005; seat: front; flight hours: 25,000 total, 4 in this make and model, 25,000 as pilot in command, 150 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 8 knots - Visibility: 12 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 29.80 inHg - Observed at: KLAL, 21 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050521009039A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050521009039A), May 21, 2005: Aviat PITTSS1S, Lakes Wales, FL, Substantial damage. (-23) On may 21, 2005, [privacy data omitted] the pilot of N5WD, a pitts model S1S, landed his experimental aircraft at the Chalet Suzanne air strip located in… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.