Coles County Memorial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mattoon, Illinois 61938
Saturday, May 15, 1999 12:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot made a 3-point landing and the initial portion of the landing roll was normal. He reported the airplane then began to '...veer sharply to the right.' He was unable to correct the directional control of the airplane. The left main gear collapsed and the left lower wingtip along with the propeller contacted the runway prior to the airplane coming to rest on a heading of about 180 degrees. Inspection of the airplane failed to reveal any failure/malfunction of the airplane's brake system. A fuel line was located near the left brake which may have interfered with the pilot pressing on the brake pedal.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and inadvertent ground loop/swerve. A related factor was the crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/15/1999
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City MATTOON
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61938
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport COLES COUNTY MEMORIAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MTO
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 722
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
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) 248
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 17 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 813
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:33AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N64DE
NTSB Number CHI99LA151
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 Engleman
Aircraft Model PITTS S1
Aircraft Series Identifier PITTS S1
Aircraft Serial Number DE001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1050
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 Oct 21 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 406
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JIMMY T. STEWART
Aircraft Owner Street Address 540 HALL COURT
Aircraft Owner City CHARLESTON
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61920
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code MTO
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1157
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
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 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 6501
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --