Pitts S-15 accident near Laramie, Wyoming, April 20, 1983
On April 20, 1983 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Pitts S-15, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N6CQ, was destroyed in an accident near Laramie, Wyoming. It was a ferry flight 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
- April 20, 1983 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Laramie, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Pitts S-15, amateur-built
- Registration
- N6CQ · no longer on the register · serial 31P
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED DURING A FERRY FLT IN VMC WX CONDITIONS. WHILE IN FORMATION WITH TWO OTHER ACFT N6CQ WAS OBSERVED TO PULL UP TO A NEAR VERTICAL CLIMB, REVERSE COURSE AND DISAPPEAR. FOUND NEAR THE MANEUVER LOCATION, THE ACFT STRUCK THE GROUND IN A NEARLY WINGS LEVEL ATTITUDE AT A HIGH RATE OF DESCENT. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DEVELOPING POWER ON IMPACT. EXAMINATION OF THE PLT SHOWED NO EVIDENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. THE PLT WAS STRAPPED IN HIS SEAT WITH ALL BELTS INTACT. HIGH 'G' FORCES PREVENTED SURVIVAL.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 960 hours in all; 242 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 44 in the last 30 days; 870 as pilot in command; 50 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,668 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 10, 1982; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IV5 Boulder CO at 3:00 pm
- Destination: RWL Rawlins WY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded at 20,000 ft; ovct
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.