Greenwood Leflore Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Greenwood, Mississippi 38930
Thursday, June 19, 1997 10:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated he made a three-point landing. On landing rollout, he lost directional control, and the airplane veered to the right and nosed over. Examination of the airframe, flight controls, and brake assembly revealed no evidence of a precrash mechanical failure or malfunction. The pilot stated that an FAA inspector observed a groove in the middle of the runway that may have been wide enough to cause problems for a small tail wheel aircraft. Also, the pilot said that he believed that the tailwheel entered one of these cracks, causing it to deflect to the full swivel position after which no control was possible. Examination of the runway by FAA personnel revealed the depth of the crack was minimal, went straight down the middle of the runway, and was associated with a butt joint from the original overlay.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

loss of directional control during the landing rollout for undetermined reason(s), resulting in the airplane veering to the right and subsequently nosing over.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/19/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1040
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City GREENWOOD
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 38930
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GREENWOOD LEFLORE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GWO
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 131
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1152 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID GWO
Elevation of weather observation facility 155
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 254
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 19 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1230
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:21PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7211R
NTSB Number MIA97LA187
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Spencer
Aircraft Model PITTS S-1S
Aircraft Series Identifier PITTS S-1S
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1150
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours 3
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOE P. SPENCER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 15928 HWY 8 WEST
Aircraft Owner City GRENADA
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 38901
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation 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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City GRENADA
Departure State MS
Departure Country
Departure Time 1036
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code GWO
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 4564
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --