Amateur-built PITTS S1 S accident near Somerville, Tennessee, July 15, 2016
On July 15, 2016, a 1984 amateur-built PITTS S1 S, registered N4714H, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Somerville, Tennessee (Fayette County Airport). It was a personal 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 failure of the left landing gear leg due to fatigue, which resulted in a ground loop during landing. Contributing to the accident was the airplane builder's installation of a custom-built landing gear rather than the landing gear included with the airplane kit.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 15, 2016
- Place
- Somerville, Tennessee · Fayette County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PITTS S1 S NO SERIES, built 1984
- Registration
- N4714H · no longer on the register · serial DS-1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot was conducting a cross-country, personal flight in the experimental, amateur-built, tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot reported that, while slowing the airplane after a normal three-point landing in a calm wind, the airplane began swerving. The airplane then departed the right side of the runway and ground looped. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the left landing gear leg had separated. Metallurgical examination of the fractured landing gear leg surface revealed a small thumbnail-like fatigue region, followed by an overstress region. A previous owner had assembled the airplane from a kit about 32 years before the accident, and it had accumulated about 875 total hours of operation. The builder did not use the stock bungie landing gear that were included with the kit. Rather, to reduce drag, he designed and constructed his own round, tapered rod landing gear. It is likely that the homemade, custom-built landing gear leg could not support the same loading as the stock bungie landing gear, which resulted in fatigue over a period of time and the gear leg's subsequent 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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main gear strut/axle/truck › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main gear strut/axle/truck › Failure
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Fabrication › Owner/builder
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Installation › Owner/builder
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,700 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 2,700 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 14, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 865 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, April 23, 2016; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 865 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 54M Rossville TN at 11:45 pm
- Destination: FYE Somerville TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 1, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
6 documents, released by the NTSB on August 17, 2017. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Materials Laboratory Factual Report | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Interview Summary | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Weather Report | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Evidence Control Form | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 6 | Photo (Courtesy of FAA) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.