Pitts SPECIAL accident near Homestead, Florida, April 7, 1986
On April 7, 1986 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Pitts SPECIAL, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N501L, was destroyed in an accident near Homestead, Florida. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- April 7, 1986 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Homestead, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Pitts SPECIAL, amateur-built
- Registration
- N501L · no longer on the register · serial L-1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS ON A FLT TO PRACTICE AEROBATIC MNVRS IN A DESIGNATED PRACTICE AREA. A WITNESS, WHO WAS DRIVING NEARBY, STATED THAT HE SAW THE ACFT 'FALLING STRAIGHT DOWN' & CRASH IN A TOMATO FIELD. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED EVIDENCE THAT THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN, RGT WING LOW ATTITUDE. NO FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE ACFT'S FUEL SYS & NO EVIDENCE OF A FUEL SPILL WAS NOTED. ALSO, NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. TOXICOLOGY CHECKS INDICATED THERE WAS A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN THE PLT'S BLOOD, BUT NO ALCOHOL WAS DETECTED IN HIS STOMACH CONTENTS OR URINE.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 200 hours in all; 20 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 797 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TMB Miami FL at 7:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:49 pm from TMB, 10 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.