No fatalities

28 Sep 2019: Pitts S2 B — Morrisville, VT

Morrisville, VT, United States

On 28 Sep 2019, a Pitts S2 B was involved in an aviation accident near Morrisville, VT. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and nose down. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During landing roll, a biplane veered right; the pilot applied left rudder and brakes, causing the left wing tip to scrape the runway. The aircraft exited left and nosed down after braking to avoid a ditch.

Accident Details

According to the pilot's report, during the landing roll, the biplane veered to the right. The pilot applied left rudder and brakes, which resulted in the left-wing tip scraping the runway surface. Subsequently, the biplane exited the runway to the left. To avoid a drainage ditch ahead, the pilot applied more brakes, and the biplane nosed down.

Damage

The pilot reported that the biplane sustained substantial damage to the lower, left-wing spar.

Pilot Report

The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Directional control — Not attained/maintainedPilot