- Date
- March 20, 1994, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Albion, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N60827Aviat Pitts S-2B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 18, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940320015789A
- Case key
- 38743
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
the pilot's loss of directional control during the landing roll, and the subsequent collision with soft terrain and nose over. Factors related to the accident were: the snowbanks on either side of the runway, and the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.
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 conducting a landing on the runway, which was 36 feet wide, with snowbanks on either side. The snowbank on the left side appeared to be on the runway, so the pilot favored the right side during touchdown. On the landing roll, the right main landing gear impacted soft terrain and the airplane nosed over. The pilot had a total of 5.6 hours in the last 90 days.
Factual narrative
On Sunday, March 20, 1994, at 1600 eastern standard time, a Pitts S-2B, N60827, piloted by Eric R. Rueckwald, sustained substantial damage during a landing at the Pine Hill Airport, Albion, New York. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot was landing on runway 28, which is 2675 feet long and 36 feet wide. The winds were from 290 degrees at 7 knots. In his report, the pilot stated:
...I saw the snow banks on either side of me. Since the snow bank on the left side looked like it was creeping up the runway, I chose to land a very small amount right of centerline. I stayed to the right of the centerline to avoid the snow bank on the left which was encroaching on the runway....I got sucked to the right, I felt the wheel get in the mud, I remember putting the rudder over directly on top of the right snow bank...The next thing I remember was being in the airplane upsidedown...
The pilot reported that he had flown a total of 5.6 hours in this or any other airplane in the previous 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N60827
- Reported as
- Aviat Pitts S-2B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5280
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-540-D4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ruekwald Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Departed
- 7G0 · Brockport, NY
- Airport
- 9G6 · Pine Hill Airport, runway 28, 2,675 × 36 ft, asphalt
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 196 total · 29 in this make and model · 96 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 7 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.