Amateur-built Pitts Special SPS-1 accident near Revere, Minnesota, January 5, 2012
On January 5, 2012 at about 4:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Pitts Special SPS-1, registered N330BL, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Revere, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel contamination and the inadequate design of the fuel system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 2012 · about 4:30 pm local time · cases in 2012
- Place
- Revere, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Pitts Special SPS-1
- Registration
- N330BL · registry record · serial 1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane had not been flown for over 6 months prior to the accident flight. Before departure, the pilot added about 3 gallons of fuel to the existing fuel on board the airplane. The pilot did not find contamination when he drained fuel from the main fuel tank sump drain. About 20 minutes after departure, during cruise flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power that led the pilot to conduct a forced landing on a road. The airplane nosed over during the landing. An examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane was not equipped, nor was it required to be equipped, with a fuel sump drain(s) for the wing tank, which drained into the main fuel tank. Water contamination was present in the fuel line leading to the carburetor, but no water contamination was noted when the main fuel tank sump—the only available sump—was drained. Accordingly, water was likely in the wing tanks and fed into the main tank after it was sumped. The water then entered the fuel lines. The lack of sump drains in the wing tanks is an inadequate design because it does not allow a pilot to remove all water from the fuel system.
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
What happened, in order
- Collision during takeoff/land during landing
- Fuel contamination during enroute (cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid condition other cases naming the fuel system
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Fuel system › (general) › Design other cases naming the fuel system
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,652 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 2,418 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 4, 2012
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,053 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, June 10, 2011
- Maximum gross weight: 1,219 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDS Madison SD at 4:00 pm
- Destination: FBL Faribault MN
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.78 inHg
- Observation at 3:15 pm from KMML, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on November 14, 2012. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Record of Conversation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N330BL on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 1,069 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Madison Municipal · departed from
- Faribault Muni-Liz Wall Strohfus Field · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Minnesota 1,544 since 1982 · 209 in the last ten years
- Minnesota 6,946 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN12LA128.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.