Pitts S-2B accident near Shirley, NY
On August 21, 2001, a Pitts S-2B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Shirley, NY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 21, 2001
- Place
- Shirley, NY
- Aircraft
- Pitts S-2B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.831°N, 72.861°W
- NTSB ID
- 20010830X01830
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 21, 2001, about 1245 eastern daylight time, a Pitts S-2B, N225SD, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain while maneuvering to land at the Brookhaven Airport (HWV), Shirley, New York. The certificated flight instructor in the front cockpit was fatally injured, and the certificated commercial pilot in the rear cockpit, who was receiving instruction, was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local aerobatic instructional flight that originated from Brookhaven. No flight plan was filed, and the flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot under instruction, they planned to fly several normal traffic patterns, then perform a simulated engine-out landing. They boarded the airplane, and he believed they executed a normal takeoff from runway 24. Because of trauma suffered during the accident, the pilot under instruction was not able to remember how many traffic patterns he and his instructor completed. He did remember that during one of the traffic patterns prior to the accident, the flight instructor set up a high approach angle with a high rate of descent for him to recover. He took the controls, recovered the airplane, and executed a normal landing to runway 24. The pilot under instruction vaguely remembered that while on downwind, just prior to the accident, he spoke to someone over the radio, and had to make "s-turns" to maintain separation from another airplane ahead. He did not recall if he had to make s-turns while on final, nor did he remember what type of approach and landing
Probable cause
The pilot under instruction's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, and the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action during a simulated engine-out approach, which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent ground impact.
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Browse: New York · 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.
