Aerotek PITTS S2A accident near Santa Fe, Texas, May 24, 1986
On May 24, 1986 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Aerotek PITTS S2A, registered N80004, was destroyed in an accident near Santa Fe, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- May 24, 1986 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Fe, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerotek PITTS S2A · all PITTS S2As on the register
- Registration
- N80004 · registry record · serial 2012
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A SHORT OCCURRED IN THE AIRCRAFT'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DISTRACTING THE OWNER/PILOT OCCUPYING THE BACK SEAT OF THE AIRCRAFT. THIS SEAT WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH A SECOND LAP RESTRAINT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED, BY WITNESSES, TO ENTER A SPIN WHICH WENT INVERTED. THE FRONT SEAT PILOT MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REACH THE PEDALS BUT HAD NO EXPERIENCE IN THE AIRCRAFT. THE SPIN WAS STOPPED AT AN ALTITUDE TOO LOW TO PULL OUT, AND IT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A STEEP INVERTED ATTITUDE.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,433 hours in all; 56 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 4,389 as pilot in command; 112 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,913 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 3, 1985; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Houston TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:47 pm from HOU, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N80004 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.