# NTSB WPR13LA063: Aerotek Pitts S-1T, N49309, Billings, MT, December 2, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 2, 2012, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC) - Place: Billings, MT - Coordinates: 45.807498, -108.542778 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.8075&lon=-108.5428&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Flight control sys malf/fail](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/333) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 10, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 85756 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR13LA063 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/85756/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=85756 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13LA063 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inability to maintain directional control during the landing roll because of the failure of the tailwheel support bracket. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fuselage: gear attach fittings (on fus)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035343): Aircraft › Aircraft structures · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Aerotek PITTS S-1T, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035343/cases.md?model=0110303), [All aircraft, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035343/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Attain/maintain not possible (probable cause); cases with it: [Aerotek PITTS S-1T, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=0110303), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Flight control sys malf/fail](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/333) (defining event); cases with it: [Aerotek PITTS S-1T, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/333/sequence.md?model=0110303), [All aircraft, 410 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/333/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Aerotek PITTS S-1T, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=0110303), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Aerotek PITTS S-1T, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=0110303), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis After completing a personal flight, the pilot was returning to his home airport. He stated that on the first landing attempt, he was not able to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, and he aborted the landing. On the second landing attempt, he again was not able to maintain directional control and subsequently realized that there was not enough remaining runway for him to successfully abort the landing. The airplane departed the runway surface and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the weld that attached the tailwheel tube to the fuselage had separated. This would have allowed for the tailwheel assembly to freely move left and right without corresponding rudder input, and thus the pilot would not be able to maintain directional control during the landing roll. ## Factual narrative On December 2, 2012, at 1430 mountain standard time, an experimental exhibition AeroTek Pitts S-1T, N49309, experienced a flight control malfunction during the landing flare. The airplane landed hard on runway 28L, and departed the runway surface at the Billings Logan International Airport (BIL), Billings, Montana. After departing the runway surface, the airplane nosed over resulting in substantial damage to the tail section and the top wing. The pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight; he was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot stated that he had taken a 40-minute flight, with no problems encountered, and returned to land at his home airport. Upon touchdown, he was not able to maintain control of the airplane, and as it moved to the left edge of the runway, he added power to abort the landing. The airplane became airborne, and he was cleared to land again on runway 28L. The airplane touched down, and the pilot again was not able to gain control of the airplane. As the airplane moved to the right edge of the runway, the pilot realized he would not be able to abort the landing. The airplane departed the runway surface, something caught in the dirt, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that the weld that attached the tail wheel tube to the fuselage had separated. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site. During an inspection of the airplane, he noted a broken tail wheel support bracket, which allowed the tail wheel assembly to freely move left and right without corresponding rudder input. The pilot reported to him that the support bracket failure was found when the airplane was still inverted. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N49309](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N49309), registered now, S/N 1006, built 1982 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AEROTEK PITTS S-1T - Registry model: [Aerotek PITTS S-1T](https://openairdocs.org/model/aerotek-pitts-s-1t) (registry code 0110303) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming AEIO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-aeio-360-series) (registry code 41522, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1006 - Airframe hours: 955 - Engines: LYCOMING AEIO-360-A1E 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Aerobatic; Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 9, 2010, 28 hours before - Departed: BIL, Billings, MT - Destination: BIL, Billings, MT - Airport: BIL, Billings, runway 28L, 3,800 × 75 ft ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review July 14, 2011; seat: center; flight hours: 1,350 total, 27 in this make and model, 890 as pilot in command, 3 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 210° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 20,000 ft broken - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 29.29 inHg - Observed at: BIL ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20121202027009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20121202027009A), Dec 2, 2012: Aerotek PITTS S-1T, Billings, MT, Substantial damage. On December 2, 2012, an Aerotek, inc. pitts special S-1T, experimental exhibition only, with pilot in command [privacy data omitted] attempted a landing at… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 14, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=85756. 2.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 776 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40385641&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Pilot Report (item 2, .PDF, 453 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40385642&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%20Report%20-Redacted.PDF - Report from the Billings Airport (item 3, .PDF, 964 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40387289&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Report%20from%20the%20Billings%20Airport-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.