- Date
- October 8, 1992, 18:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Minersville, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N31SPAnderson Pitts S-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921008041379A
- Case key
- 37254
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
A loss of control due to a foreign object jamming the elevator flight controls.
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 was performing aerobatic maneuvers to provide an opinion of the airplane to the owner. FAA records indicate that the pilot was certified for aerobatic maneuvers to the surface. The pilot had over 300 hours of flight experience in the pitts. After several aerobatic maneuvers, the pilot was unable to counter a nose-up attitude and the airplane stalled and entered a spin. He was able to stop the spin rotation, but was unable to control the airplane pitch prior to impacting the ground. A c-clamp was found in the aft fuselage, near the elevator controls. The clamp was bent, gouged, and had marks where the paint had been removed. An elevator control rod was fractured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N31SP
- Reported as
- Anderson Pitts S-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- AL-2
- Airframe hours
- 916
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bardic Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Bardic Aviation Inc
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 10, 1992 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- ZER · Pottsville, PA
- Destination
- ZER
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,570 total · 350 in this make and model · 1,570 as pilot in command · 52 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.