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| Date: | Saturday 8 January 2000 |
| Time: | 10:34 |
| Type: |  Pitts S-1X |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N900SH |
| MSN: | 001 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 395 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming AEIO-360 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Upland, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | CCB |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During an air show, while conducting aerobatic maneuvers, the airplane continued in a spin to ground impact. According to witnesses, the pilot was performing an aerobatic routine with two other airplanes, known as a "squirrel cage" maneuver. The airplanes would take turns entering the aerobatic box to perform a single choreographed maneuver. The routine card indicated that the pilot was to perform multiple snap rolls when the accident occurred. A video of the pilot's routine was examined with the assistance of members of the International Aerobatic Club. The video showed that the pilot made 3 1/2 snap rolls to the right, and then 2 1/2 spins to the left. It appeared there was no flight control problem and the pilot entered a flat spin. The elevator appeared to be loaded and the pilot never broke the stall prior to impact. The pilot had written a magazine article advocating a specific spin recovery method.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to recover from an intentional aerobatic maneuver.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X20384&key=1
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 12-Dec-2017 18:18 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 27-Apr-2024 17:38 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Operator, ] |
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