Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Reno Stead Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Reno, Nevada 89506
Friday, September 13, 1996 9:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The two Pitts S-1S aircraft collided after landing on runway 26. The airplanes were participating in the Reno Air Races and had completed a biplane class heat race under a waiver approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilot of N230MP indicated that he observed N15HR about 0.25 miles ahead of his position while on final approach to the runway. He said N15HR touched down on the right side of the runway and he planned to touch down on the left side. The pilot then indicated he lost sight of N15HR while his airplane was floating during the landing flare. A few seconds after a three point touchdown the pilot saw N15HR on his right side and was unable to avoid the collision. The pilot of N15HR indicated after the landing roll she turned left while taxiing about 5 miles per hour to exit the runway and was struck from behind. The pilot also indicated before she turned she cleared left and did not see any other airplane on the runway. Procedures in place for the air race provided for the simultaneous landing of two biplanes on the same runway to facilitate the show.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot of N230MP inadequate visual lookout while landing on a runway occupied by another known aircraft. A factor in the accident was the procedure to allow simultaneous landings by aircraft on the same runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/13/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 915 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | RENO |
| Event State | NEVADA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 89506 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | RENO STEAD |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 4SD |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 5046 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 858 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 138 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RNO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4412 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1726 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 13 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1913 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 7 2001 12:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N230MP | N15HR |
| NTSB Number | LAX96LA336A | LAX96LA336B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- | -- |
| Damage | Substantial | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Pitts | Pitts |
| Aircraft Model | S-1S | S-1S |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | S-1S | S-1S |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1001 | 4 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1175 | 1150 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 1 1996 12:00AM | Jul 1 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 20 | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | 205 | 700 |
| ELT Installed | No | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | LO, JEFFREY G. | DISCOVERY AVIATION, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4878 PINE FORREST PLACE | 5612 DRAKES DRIVE |
| Aircraft Owner City | SAN JOSE | BYRON |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | ||
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95118 | 94514 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- | -- |
| Operator Name | ||
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | ||
| Operator City | ||
| Operator State | ||
| Operator Country | ||
| Operator Zip code | ||
| Operator Code | ||
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 4SD | 4SD |
| Departure City | ||
| Departure State | ||
| Departure Country | ||
| Departure Time | 900 | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | ||
| Destination City | ||
| Destination State | ||
| Destination Country | ||
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 26 | 26 |
| Runway Length | 7600 | 7600 |
| Runway Width | 150 | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |