Pitts S-1E accident near Auburn, CA
On April 15, 1995, a Pitts S-1E (airplane) was involved in an accident near Auburn, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 15, 1995
- Place
- Auburn, CA
- Aircraft
- Pitts S-1E · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.000°N, 121.091°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001207X03318
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 15, 1995, at 1040 hours Pacific daylight time, a Brown (et al) amateur built Pitts S-1E, N301SH, collided with a tree and crashed about 10 miles north of Auburn, California. The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules personal flight to Auburn Municipal Airport, Auburn, California. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed by the impact forces and resulting postimpact fire. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane departed Oroville Municipal Airport at 1025 hours. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Sacramento Flight Standards District Office conducted the on-scene investigation. He said that the airplane departed Oroville Municipal Airport with another experimental airplane. When both airplanes approached the accident site, the second airplane was flying at a "normal" altitude; the accident airplane was flying at treetop level. The inspector said a witness, located about 1/2 mile north of the accident site, said he observed the airplane at treetop level "corkscrewing through the air" before it struck the tree. Several witnesses told Nevada County Sheriff's deputies that they observed the accident airplane executing a roll maneuver. During the maneuver, the airplane pitched down and collided with the terrain. One witness said he heard the accident airplane engine power increase before it entered the roll maneuver. National Transportation Safety Board investigators interviewed the pilot o
Probable cause
THE PILOT'S POOR JUDGMENT IN PERFORMING A ROLL AT AN ALTITUDE INSUFFICIENT TO ASSURE A SAFE COMPLETION.
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Browse: California · Pitts aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
