Amateur-built SPECIAL S-1S accident near Alliance, Ohio, June 18, 1989
On June 18, 1989 at about 3:00 pm local time, a amateur-built SPECIAL S-1S, registered N49JC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Alliance, Ohio (Berlin Airpark airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN PROPER RUNWAY ALIGNMENT. THE SOFT TERRAIN WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 18, 1989 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Alliance, Ohio · Berlin Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SPECIAL S-1S SPECIAL S-
- Registration
- N49JC · registry record · serial 70048
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS COMPLETING A LANDING, WHEN HE ALLOWED THE MAIN LANDING GEAR OF THE AIRCRAFT TO TRACK OFF THE HARD SURFACED RUNWAY & ONTO SOFT TERRAIN. THE AIRCRAFT THEN NOSED OVER & WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 2,300 as pilot in command; 1,200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 675 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 15, 1989; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-360-H1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,930 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,200 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°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.