Pitts S1C accident near Creedmore, North Carolina, December 4, 1999
On December 4, 1999 at about 10:10 pm local time, a Pitts S1C, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N177J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Creedmore, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to select the reserve position of the fuel tank resulting in loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and a nose over during a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 4, 1999 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Creedmore, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Pitts S1C, amateur-built · all S1Cs on the register
- Registration
- N177J · no longer on the register · serial JR-1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was in the process of diverting to a field short of his intended destination because of impending nightfall on a planned cross country flight when he sustained a loss of power due to fuel starvation. He performed an emergency descent and landing to a clear furrowed farm field, but as he got closer to touchdown, he realized his choice of landing into the wind put his landing roll across the furrows, and the airplane sustained a nose over. Post crash investigation revealed the normal fuel source had been exhausted, but fuel remained in the reserve compartment of the fuel tank.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,842 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 2,656 as pilot in command; 1,602 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 429 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 24, 1999; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-90-12F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ISO Kinston NC at 9:10 pm
- Destination: TDF Roxboro NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 250° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 18,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 pm from RDU, 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.
Other NTSB records under N177J 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.