Amateur-built PITTS S-1C accident near Portage, Wisconsin, August 6, 1983
On August 6, 1983 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built PITTS S-1C, registered N46807, was substantially damaged in an accident near Portage, Wisconsin (Portage Municipal airport). It was a ferry 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 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
- August 6, 1983 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Portage, Wisconsin · Portage Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PITTS S-1C
- Registration
- N46807 · no longer on the register · serial 339H
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT HAD JUST BEEN PURCHASED & WAS BEING FERRIED TO PALATKA, FL. DURING THE LANDING ROLL AT AN EN ROUTE ARPT, THE ACFT GROUND LOOPED, AND SUBSEQUENTLY, CAME TO REST INVERTED. THE PLT STATED THAT THIS WAS HIS 1ST LANDING IN THE PITTS S-10 & THAT HE WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH ITS HIGH SPEED LANDING & TAXI CHARACTERISTICS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,738 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 161 in the last 90 days; 1,610 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 61 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 28, 1983; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-B1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0WI4 Montello WI at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 3,360 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°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.