Amateur-built PITTS S-1S accident near Norwalk, Ohio, July 11, 1999
On July 11, 1999 at about 5:11 pm local time, a amateur-built PITTS S-1S, registered N2118, was destroyed in an accident near Norwalk, Ohio (Norwalk-Huron CO. airport). 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 pilot's improper decision to conduct a low level aerobatic maneuver, and his subsequent loss of awareness regarding the location of trees at that level.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 11, 1999 · about 5:11 pm local time
- Place
- Norwalk, Ohio · Norwalk-Huron CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PITTS S-1S
- Registration
- N2118 · registry record · serial 138-H
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane struck 75-foot trees after making a low-level fly-by, which briefly included intentional inverted flight. Per 49 CFR 91.303(e), no person may operate an aircraft in aerobatic flight below 1,500 feet above the surface.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,200 hours in all; 90 in this make and model; 34 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 310 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 2, 1998; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: OH21 at 5:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 4,209 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:45 pm from CLE, 34 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.