Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Indianapolis Terry Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sheridan, Indiana 46069
Wednesday, September 25, 2002 17:08 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The Aviat Pitts S-2C was seen performing a tail slide when it fell backwards and entered an inverted spin from an altitude of about 2,500 feet above ground level. A witness stated that the airplane had been making smoke during aerobatics, but not during the tail slide. The airplane climbed to about 2,000 feet (AGL) and fell over on its back. He added, "There is no question that the aircraft was on its back." The airplane began spinning and turned 6 times before it appeared to begin to recover. He estimated that if the airplane had an additional 1,000 feet, it would have made a safe recovery. He also stated that there was engine noise. The front seat pilot had experience competing in aerobatic contests and the rear seat pilot was a certified flight instructor who provided aerobatic instruction to pilots in the accident airplane. Both pilots were equipped with emergency parachutes and were found with their restraint harnesses secured. The emergency parachute owner's manual states that pilots should know and rehearse their emergency procedures and mentally organize their bailout procedures. The airplane's canopy was with the wreckage and in the locked position. The flight originated in an over weight aft center of gravity configuration about 15 minutes before the accident. Examination of the flight control system and engine revealed no anomalies which would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude and airspeed while performing an aerobatic maneuver. Contributing factors were the pilot-in-command exceeding the aircraft weight and balance, and his inadequate preflight planning/preparation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/25/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1708 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sheridan |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 46069 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Indianapolis Terry Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TYQ |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 9 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 922 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 185 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EYE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 823 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 22 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 20 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.11 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14164 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 25 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1804 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2003 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Indianapolis FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N116PS |
| NTSB Number | CHI02FA294 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Aviat |
| Aircraft Model | S-2C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 6020 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1700 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 5 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 283.9 |
| Airframe Hours | 49.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Fly Aerobatic |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2946 River Bay Drive North |
| Aircraft Owner City | Indianapolis |
| Aircraft Owner State | IN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 46240 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | TYQ |
| Departure City | Indianapolis |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1650 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | TYQ |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 11 2003 1:57PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 5500 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |