Amateur-built PITTS SPECIAL S-1S accident near Hamilton, Ohio, August 18, 1990
On August 18, 1990 at about 6:25 pm local time, a amateur-built PITTS SPECIAL S-1S, registered N40X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hamilton, Ohio. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 LOSS OF ENGINE POWER FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1990 · about 6:25 pm local time
- Place
- Hamilton, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PITTS SPECIAL S-1S PITTS SPEC
- Registration
- N40X · no longer on the register · serial JT-1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS PERFORMING AEROBATIC MANEUVERS (TAIL SLIDE) DURING AN AIR SHOW WHEN THE PROPELLER WAS OBSERVED TO HAVE STOPPED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN OBSERVED IN A HIGH RATE OF DESCENT HEADING TOWARD AN OPEN FIELD BEFORE IT IMPACTED AN EMBANKMENT. THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO BE IN A SLIP ATTITUDE AT IMPACT. AN EXAMINATION AND TEST RUN OF THE ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL ANY PRE-IMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,894 hours in all; 612 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 6,474 as pilot in command; 3,311 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 3, 1990; 981 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,250 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AIO-360-A1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HAO Hamilton OH at 6:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 24,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:17 pm from DAY, 32 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.