- Date
- October 22, 1994, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Galeville, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7037WPitts S-1C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 23, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941022035309A
- Case key
- 38892
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
Inadequate maintenance inspection which resulted in disengagement of the rudder clevis bolt and the inflight loss of control during aerobatic manuevers.
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 acrobatics maneuvers. He entered a left snap roll at 1800 feet, and during the recovery the right rudder pedal disconnected from the rudder cable. The airplane entered a left spin, from which the pilot was unable to recover. He elected to parachute from the airplane, which continued to spin to the ground. An FAA inspector examined the wreckage and found the clevis pin for the right rudder was missing.
Factual narrative
On Saturday, October 22, 1994, at 1600 eastern daylight time, a Pitts S-1C, N7037W, registered to and piloted by George J. Emer, was destroyed by impact with the terrain in Galeville, New York. The pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot was performing acrobatic maneuvers, when he lost rudder control. He was unable to recover from the maneuver, and he elected to parachute from the airplane. The airplane continued out of control and impacted terrain.
In his report, the pilot stated:
I entered a left snap roll at approximately 1800' AGL. On recovery (full right rudder) the right rudder pedal disconnected from the rudder cable. The aircraft entered a left spin...and did not respond to any control input. I jumped out of the aircraft at approximately 700' and deployed my parachute.
Mr. Ray Darling, an Airworthiness Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, examined the wreckage. In a telephone interview, Mr. Darling stated that he found "the clevis pin for the right rudder cable was missing."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7037W
- Reported as
- Pitts S-1C
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 4100
- Airframe hours
- 210
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- George J. Emer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 3, 1994 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- MGJ · Montgomery, NY
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
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,419 total · 210 in this make and model · 25 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.