Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Westminister, California 92685
Sunday, August 27, 2000 18:50 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplanes collided in-flight as the Pitts maneuvered from behind to in front of the Cessna. The pilots stated they were flying each other's airplane. The pilots established radio and visual contact with each other. The Pitts assumed a trail position behind the Cessna. The Pitts varied its distance and position relative to the Cessna. Cruise altitude was about 1,000 feet. The Cessna turned left and began a gradual climb to 1,500 feet. About 1,400 feet, the Pitts pilot advised the Cessna pilot to hold still and the Cessna pilot acknowledged. The Cessna pilot leveled off and held his course. He knew from their years of flying together that the Pitts pilot would come below him. As the Pitts maneuvered from behind to in front of the Cessna, the Cessna's propeller severed the top half of the Pitts' vertical stabilizer and rudder. The Cessna's damaged propeller set up a vibration. The Pitts pilot maintained control of his airplane. The pilots discussed their options and elected to divert to Fullerton. They advised the tower of their situation and asked for emergency equipment to be on hand. The Cessna pilot landed first, and the Pitts pilot evaluated the amount of control available. After the emergency equipment arrived, the Pitts landed uneventfully.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot of the Pitts misjudged the clearance while maneuvering under the Cessna.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/27/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1850 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | WESTMINISTER |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92685 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | Yes |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1853 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 305 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FUL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 96 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| 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) | 70 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 63 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| 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) | 10902 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 27 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1955 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 1 2001 7:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9PJ | N6225R |
| NTSB Number | LAX00LA315A | LAX00LA315B |
| 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 | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Pitts | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | S1S | 172RG |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | S1S | 172RG |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1-0037 | 172RG0122 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1150 | 2650 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 1 2000 12:00AM | Oct 1 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 28 | 85 |
| Airframe Hours | 904 | 3201 |
| ELT Installed | No | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MARTIN W. KUSCH | MICHAEL F. HARTMAN |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | ||
| Aircraft Owner City | RANCHO CUCAMONG | MONTCLAIR |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | ||
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 91730 | 91763 |
| 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) | Personal | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LGB | LGB |
| Departure City | LONG BEACH | LONG BEACH |
| Departure State | CA | CA |
| Departure Country | ||
| Departure Time | 1840 | 1840 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | CCB | CCB |
| Destination City | UPLAND | UPLAND |
| Destination State | CA | CA |
| Destination Country | ||
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 17 2001 10:40AM | Oct 17 2001 10:40AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |