NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On August 27, 2000, about 0823 eastern daylight time, a Joel G. Summers Pitts S1-T, registered to, and operated by a private owner, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed in an orange grove in Indian River County, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane incurred substantial damage, and the private-rated pilot, sole occupant of the aircraft, sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated from Vero Beach, Florida, the same day, about 0800.

According to the Indian River County Sheriff's dispatcher, a member of the pilot's family said that the pilot departed the airport at about 0800, with the intent to fly for about 30 minutes. The family member later reported the pilot missing at about 2200, after he had not returned home, and no one had seen him since he departed the airport. At 0350, August 28, 2000, a sheriff's deputy discovered the airplane's wreckage in an orange grove.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

Records obtained during the investigation showed that the pilot held a private pilot certificate, with an airplane single engine land rating, issued on August 13, 1984 The pilot also held an FAA third class medical certificate issued on September 14, 1998, with the limitation, "must wear lenses for distant - possess glasses for near vision". The pilot's logbook showed that the pilot had accumulated about 312 flight hours, and had flown about 9 hours in the previous 90 days.

AIRPLANE INFORMATION

N112JG is a Pitts Model S1-T, experimental amateur built, single seat aerobatic biplane, with conventional landing gear, which was manufactured in 1998. On June 22, 2000 the aircraft had received an annual inspection, and had accumulated a total time on the airframe of about 90.8 hours. The aircraft was powered by an AEIO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower engine, whose serial number is 1-1234-51A. According to information provided to the NTSB, the engine had been overhauled by a FAA repair facility in 1996.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

According to the FAA inspector who conducted the initial on-scene examination of the wreckage, N112JG was located about 5 miles southwest of the Vero Beach Airport, in an orange grove, in position 27 degrees, 33.976 degrees north latitude, 080 degrees, 34.763 minutes west longitude. The inspector stated that the aircraft had approached the orchard "cross row", had hit a tree and had pivoted, coming to rest in a southerly direction. The inspector further stated that based on the ground scars, the aircraft had bounced about 10 feet, and then stopped, coming to rest against a tree. He said he did not find large quantities of fuel, but there was some evidence of a small amount of fuel spillage. He also said that the canopy had been opened as if the pilot had been preparing to land. After the on scene investigation was performed, the aircraft was removed from the orchard for further examination.

On August 30, 2000, the FAA inspector, along with a representative from the engine manufacture, conducted a detailed examination of the wreckage at the owner's hangar in Vero Beach, Florida. The examination revealed that the fuselage and bottom wings had exhibited compression damage consistent with that of an aircraft near a flat attitude, with little sign of forward movement. Both main landing gear assemblies had been crushed, while the cockpit, empennage and top wing had been relatively undamaged. All portions of the aircraft were located at the main wreckage site, and control continuity was established for all aircraft control surfaces. The engine had remained attached to the fuselage mounts, and there had been crushing damage to the bottom engine cowl. The propeller and the crankshaft showed that there was damage consistent with rotation at impact, and the propeller assembly had separated due to torsional overload at the engine crankshaft. One propeller blade exhibited aft bending, leading edge damage, and chordwise scoring, as well as paint abrasions, while the other blade had remained straight. During the course of the examination, it was also noted that the aircraft's clock had stopped at 8:23.

The engine manufacturer's representative stated that the engine was rotated during the examination, and continuity of the crankshaft, camshaft, valve train and accessory drive was obtained. He also stated that each cylinder had produced compression when the engine was rotated, and the colors of the combustion deposits on each spark plug were consistent with normal engine operation. He said that the left magneto was checked and it produced a spark during the test. According to the engine manufacturer's representative, there was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction, that would have prevented power from being produced by the engine.

In addition to the on scene and follow up investigations on the main aircraft wreckage, the NTSB examined components of the engine fuel injection system. The servo, flow divider, fuel lines, and fuel nozzles were all examined, and no anomalies were noted, that would have prevented the engine from producing power.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

Frederick P. Hobin, M.D., District Medical Examiner, District Nineteen, Fort Pierce, Florida, performed the postmortem examination on the pilot, and according to Dr. Hobin, the cause of death was attributed to "aircraft crash trauma." No findings that were considered causal to the accident were reported.

Wuesthoff Reference Laboratories, Melbourne, Florida, and the FAA Toxicology Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, both performed toxicology studies on specimens from the pilot for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol and drugs, and none were found to be present.

NTSB Probable Cause

the pilot's failure to maintain control in flight, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent, and collision with the ground.