- Date
- July 31, 1999, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pittstown, NJ
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6PSPitts S-2A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 3, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990731010289A
- Case key
- 47045
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 failure to obtain the proper touchdown point.
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
A normal approach was performed to Runway 26. A check of the windsock indicated a light crosswind from the left. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, it encountered a downdraft, and power was added to compensate. The airplane then impacted a bush, located about 15 feet from the approach end of the runway, touched down hard, and skidded off the left side of the runway into grass.
Factual narrative
On July 31, 1999, about 1300 Eastern Daylight Time, a Pitts S-2A, N6PS, was substantially damaged while landing at the Alexandria Airport (N85), Pittstown, New Jersey. The certificated private pilot, and the pilot passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight that originated at the Aeroflex-Andover Airport (12N), Andover, New Jersey, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that following an uneventful flight from 12N, she entered the traffic pattern at N85. All necessary pre-landing checks were completed, and a normal approach was performed to Runway 26, a 2,550 foot long asphalt runway. A check of the windsock indicated a light crosswind from the left.
As the airplane approached the end of the runway, it encountered sink, and power was added to compensate. The airplane then impacted a bush, located about 15 feet from the approach end of the runway, touched down hard, and skidded off the left side of the runway into grass. The airplane came to rest upright, nose down.
The weather reported at an airport, located about 16 miles to the northwest, at 1251 was; winds variable at 3 knots, and a temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6PS
- Reported as
- Pitts S-2A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2006
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thin Air Ltd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 1999
- Departed
- 12N · Andover, NJ
- Destination
- N85
- Airport
- N85 · Alexandria Airport, runway 26, 2,550 × 50 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 403 total · 51 in this make and model · 301 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABE, 19 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.