Amateur-built Pitts S1S accident near Tracy, California, August 13, 2006
On August 13, 2006 at about 8:15 pm local time, a amateur-built Pitts S1S, registered N22JF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tracy, California (Tracy Municipal 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 pilot to maintain directional control during the landing rollout.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 13, 2006 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Tracy, California · Tracy Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Pitts S1S
- Registration
- N22JF · registry record · serial H478
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot landed the airplane within the first 1,000 feet of the runway, just right of the centerline. During the rollout, the airplane encountered a dip in the runway, and the pilot felt the landing gear 'flex'. The airplane then veered to the left, and the pilot attempted to correct with right rudder and brake; however, the airplane swerved and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower right wing, upper left wing, and the vertical stabilizer.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 447 hours in all; 71 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 401 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 850 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, August 1, 2006; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,148 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C83 Byron CA at 8:00 pm
- Destination: TCY Tracy Municipal CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 4,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.81 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 pm from SCK, 16 miles away
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.