Thurston Pitts S-1S accident near Eatonville, WA
On November 9, 2001, a Thurston Pitts S-1S (airplane) was involved in an accident near Eatonville, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- November 9, 2001
- Place
- Eatonville, WA
- Aircraft
- Thurston Pitts S-1S · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 46.842°N, 122.244°W
- NTSB ID
- 20011113X02232
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 8, 2001, approximately 1615 Pacific standard time, a Thurston Pitts S-1S experimentally certificated homebuilt aircraft, N3VT, registered to and being flown by a private pilot was substantially damaged during collision with terrain while in an inverted spin approximately one mile southeast of Eatonville, Washington. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was personal, was operated under 14 CFR 91, and originated from Thun Field (1S0), Puyallup, Washington, approximately 1555. A witness, located approximately one nautical mile southwest of the accident site, reported seeing the aircraft enter into an inside loop. Just before the aircraft reached the top of the loop, a snap roll was observed and the aircraft transitioned into an outside loop. Approximately 260 degrees into the outside loop (just before the aircraft reached a pure vertical climb) the outside loop appeared to terminate and the witness watched as the aircraft continued in a steep, near vertical inverted climb up to the point where the aircraft's forward motion stopped. He reported hearing the engine "...as strong as ever..." up to this point. The sound of the engine then stopped and he observed the aircraft drift backwards about four to five plane lengths into a flat, inverted attitude. The aircraft was then observed to descend vertically, in an inverted attitude, slowly rotating about 1.5 to 2 seconds per full rotation (refer to Witness statement 1). A second witness, l
Probable cause
The pilot's unsuccessful corrective action (recovery) from an inverted spin. A contributing factor was the pilot's encounter with the inverted spin maneuver.
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Browse: Washington
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
