Amateur-built PITTS S1S accident near Tucson, Arizona, August 22, 1984
On August 22, 1984 at about 8:30 pm local time, a amateur-built PITTS S1S, registered N56AB, was destroyed in an accident near Tucson, Arizona (Aura Valley 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 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
- August 22, 1984 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Tucson, Arizona · Aura Valley
- 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
- N56AB · registry record · serial BF-20
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED AFTER THE ACCIDENT THAT HE WAS FLYING INVERTED WHEN HE EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE FAILURE. SEVERAL IN FLIGHT RESTART ATTEMPTS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL AND THE PILOT INITIATED A FORCED LANDING ON A DIRT ROAD. WHILE ON FINAL APCH TO THE DIRT ROAD, A PICK UP TRUCK ENTERED ONTO THE ROAD WHICH FORCED THE PILOT TO LAND IN THE ROUGH DESERT ENVIRONMENT ADJACENT TO THE ROAD. PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT STRUCK THE TOP OF A DITCH.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 5,254 hours in all; 867 in this make and model; 107 in the last 90 days; 5,010 as pilot in command; 127 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 638 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: E14 Tucson AZ at 8:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.