Amateur-built Pitts S2S accident near Zellwood, Florida, April 13, 2007
On April 13, 2007 at about 2:47 pm local time, a amateur-built Pitts S2S, registered N4204S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Zellwood, Florida (Tangerine 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 pilot's excessive braking during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 13, 2007 · about 2:47 pm local time
- Place
- Zellwood, Florida · Tangerine Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Pitts S2S
- Registration
- N4204S · no longer on the register · serial 025
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After a three-point landing on a grass runway, the pilot applied down elevator control input in order to raise the empennage, and applied the brakes, resulting in 200 feet of skid marks. The propeller contacted the grass, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot replaced the main landing gear in 2006, and this was the eighth flight since its replacement. Four of the eight flights had been by the accident pilot. Excluding the accident flight, there were no reported discrepancies with the main landing gear. A test pilot who flew the airplane recently before the accident reported that the main landing gear was satisfactory, but cautioned the pilot about being careful when operating on grass. Absent any evidence of a mechanical malfunction, it is probable the nose over was the result of the pilot's excessive braking.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,900 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 1,700 as pilot in command; 20 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 199 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, April 1, 2007; 1 hours since
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FL97 Zellwood FL at 2:38 pm
- Destination: FL97 Zellwood FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09, 2,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from KLEE
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.