Aviat Pitts S-2B accident near Hawthorne, California, February 2, 2002
On February 2, 2002 at about 7:19 pm local time, a Aviat Pitts S-2B, registered N300PS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hawthorne, California (Hawthorne Muni airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the student to maintain directional control of the airplane on the landing rollout and failure of the CFI to adequately supervise the flight. A contributing factor was the decreased tension of the right main landing gear shock cord/bungee.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 2, 2002 · about 7:19 pm local time
- Place
- Hawthorne, California · Hawthorne Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aviat Pitts S-2B
- Registration
- N300PS · registry record · serial 5340
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On the landing rollout the airplane veered to the right of runway centerline and struck a taxi light with the left wing. The purpose of the flight was to practice full stall touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The student had conducted five touch-and-go takeoffs and landings to a full stall with no discrepancies noted. The sixth touch-and-go landing was the accident landing. The CFI observed that the student had the control stick full aft and was applying left rudder to correct for the drift to the right. As the airplane continued to drift to the right the CFI applied full left rudder; however, the left wing struck the taxi light. During the airplane inspection it was observed that the tension of the right main landing gear bungee cord was slack. No further mechanical anomalies were noted.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, 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: 15,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 15,500 as pilot in command; 8,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 3, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 9 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 4,500 as pilot in command; 600 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 6, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 313 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2001; 76 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hart Air
The flight
- Departed from: LGB Long Beach CA at 6:30 pm
- Destination: HHR Hawthorne CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 4,956 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 7:20 pm from HHR
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 N300PS the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX02LA074.