Amateur-built PITTS S1S accident near Harvard, Illinois, March 1, 1983
On March 1, 1983 at about 5:40 pm local time, a amateur-built PITTS S1S, registered N11D, was destroyed in an accident near Harvard, Illinois. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 1, 1983 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- Harvard, Illinois
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PITTS S1S
- Registration
- N11D · registry record · serial 18P
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED INTO AN OPEN FIELD LEAVING NO GROUND SCARS OTHER THAN THE PRINCIPAL IMPACT. ONE WITNESS SAW THE ACFT STALL AT THE TOP OF A LOOP AND GO INTO A SPIN (TAIL-DOWN). HE STATED THE ACFT ROTATED 6-8 TIMES PRIOR TO IMPACT WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING. THE ACFT OWNER STATED THAT 'IF THE PLANE GOES INTO A VERY FLAT SPIN INVERTED, THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TOCUT THE POWER.'
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,200 hours in all; 12 in this make and model; 185 in the last 90 days; 15,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 418 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 14, 1982; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,050 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 10C Wonder Lake IL at 5:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.