- Date
- September 26, 1987, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Orleans, NE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4365Jenkins Pitts S-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870926056489A
- Case key
- 34445
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
The pilot stated that the aircraft was cruising at 2,000 ft (AGL) when the engine lost power. He turned toward the nearest suitable emergency airfield but the aircraft's rate of descent precluded this option. The pilot selected a road as alternate, but vehicular traffic on the road forced him to attempt an emergency landing in a cultivated alfalfa field. The aircraft nosed over after impact with the terrain. An examination of the fuel system and powerplant by two FAA inspectors revealed that a connecting bolt was missing from the carburetor throttle control cable. Operation of the carburetor throttle lever and butterfly were bench-checked satisfactorily. The missing bolt could not be found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4365
- Reported as
- Jenkins Pitts S-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- PA-PA
- Airframe hours
- 80
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wells, David H.
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 1987 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- HDE · Holdrege, NE
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,280 total · 25 in this make and model · 2,260 as pilot in command · 125 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAR, 44 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.