- Date
- October 13, 1991, 18:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Sebring, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N69SZChristen Industries Pitts S-2B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911013045849A
- Case key
- 33020
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve and collision with tall grass beside the runway. The tall grass was a related factor.
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
The pilot stated that as the tailwheel settled during the landing, the aircraft began to veer to the right. A go-around was initiated and the aircraft became airborne. However, the aircraft went off the right side of the runway and contacted tall grass, which caused the spade under the left bottom wing to separate. The aircraft then rolled to the left and the left wing tip contacted the ground. The aircraft touched down and the main landing gear separated. The aircraft then rotated to the left and came to rest. A post-crash examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence to indicate a precrash failure or malfunction of the landing gear or brake systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69SZ
- Reported as
- Christen Industries Pitts S-2B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5191
- Airframe hours
- 330
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-540-D4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mtf, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Mtf, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 29, 1991 · 74 hours before
- Airport
- SEF · Sebring Regional, runway 36, 5,190 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 22
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,100 total · 400 in this make and model · 935 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SRQ, 65 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.