Summary
On January 25, 1998, a Pitts S1 (N28K) was involved in an incident near Prescott, AZ. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft.
On January 25, 1998, at 0955 hours mountain standard time, a Pitts S1, N28K, ground looped during the landing roll at the Prescott, Arizona, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the pilot was not injured. The aircraft departed Prescott at 0930 for a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and included calm wind conditions.
The pilot stated that he performed a short approach and a long landing on runway 21L to minimize the taxi distance. As he was approaching the turn off to the taxiway, the nose started to drift right in the direction of the turn off. He said he attempted to stop the drift with left rudder, with no effect. He stated that the slow turn increased in rate and he applied left brake, but to no avail.
This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX98LA077. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N28K.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On January 25, 1998, at 0955 hours mountain standard time, a Pitts S1, N28K, ground looped during the landing roll at the Prescott, Arizona, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the pilot was not injured. The aircraft departed Prescott at 0930 for a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and included calm wind conditions.
The pilot stated that he performed a short approach and a long landing on runway 21L to minimize the taxi distance. As he was approaching the turn off to the taxiway, the nose started to drift right in the direction of the turn off. He said he attempted to stop the drift with left rudder, with no effect. He stated that the slow turn increased in rate and he applied left brake, but to no avail. The airplane continued it's turn to approximately 45 to 60 degrees off the runway heading, where the airplane tilted left and the left wing tip struck the ground.
A review of the pilot's flight time as shown in his report noted that he had approximately 11.5 hours of flight time in this make and model of airplane.
The special surface weather observation taken by the air traffic control tower immediately after the accident reported calm wind conditions.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX98LA077