Amateur-built Pitts S1S accident near Liberal, Kansas, October 24, 2004
On October 24, 2004 at about 7:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Pitts S1S, registered N230SB, was destroyed in an accident near Liberal, Kansas (Liberal Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while performing aerobatic flight maneuvers resulting in an in-flight collision with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 2004 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Liberal, Kansas · Liberal Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Pitts S1S
- Registration
- N230SB · registry record · serial 7-0422
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental amateur-built airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot fatally injured during an in-flight collision with terrain. Witnesses reported that the aircraft was conducting aerobatic airwork when it entered an inverted spin. According to one witness, the airplane went into a "backward spin, then it flipped up side down and stayed [in] a spin until it disappeared over the hill." A second witness stated the airplane was "doing tricks." He reported the airplane was "upside down going in circles" and did not recover prior to impact. The airplane came to rest inverted. The flight controls remained attached to the airframe. Control continuity was confirmed from the empennage to the cockpit area and from the ailerons to the wing roots. Cable breaks exhibited a frayed condition consistent with overload tensile failure.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 676 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, August 15, 2004; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LBL Liberal KS at 7:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.76 inHg
- Observation at 8:35 pm from LBL, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI05LA015.