Aerotek PITTS S-1S accident near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, May 14, 1992
On May 14, 1992, a Aerotek PITTS S-1S, registered N4MG, was destroyed in an accident near Hopkinsville, Kentucky. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILURE OF THE NUMBER 2 OIL RING IN THE NUMBER 4 ENGINE CYLINDER RESULTING IN OIL LEAKAGE, LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE, AND ENGINE POWER LOSS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 14, 1992
- Place
- Hopkinsville, Kentucky · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerotek PITTS S-1S
- Registration
- N4MG · no longer on the register · serial 1-0016
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
EN ROUTE FROM MOUNTAIN VIEW, MISSOURI, TO HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY, THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE OIL PRESSURE DROPPED FROM 78 PSI TO 70 PSI. A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING WAS MADE AND A VISUAL CHECK OF THE AIRPLANE WAS ACCOMPLISHED. THE OIL PRESSURE WAS STILL INDICATING A SAFE PRESSURE, SO THE PILOT CONTINUED THE FLIGHT TO HOPKINSVILLE. APPROXIMATELY 5 NAUTICAL MILES OUTSIDE OF HOPKINSVILLE, THE ENGINE'S OIL PRESSURE DROPPED TO ZERO AND THE ENGINE LOST PARTIAL POWER. THE PILOT WAS MAKING A FORCED LANDING ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A SINGLE GUY WIRE STRETCHED ACROSS THE HIGHWAY. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND, NOSED OVER AND SLID APPROXIMATELY 90 FEET BEFORE COMING TO REST UPRIGHT. AN ENGINE INSPECTION REVEALED AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL IN THE EXHAUST STACK AND PORT OF THE NUMBER 4 CYLINDER. EXAMINATION OF THE NUMBER 4 CYLINDER REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: A BROKEN OIL RING, THE NUMBER 2 RING FROZEN IN THE GROOVE OF THE PISTON, AND ONE OF THE PISTON PLUGS WAS WORN WITH EXCESSIVE WEAR ON THE PISTON PLUG'S HOLE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,422 hours in all; 1,020 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 3,180 as pilot in command; 339 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,020 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 7, 1992; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-B4A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2M0 Princeton KY at 11:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from HOP, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.