Brown Pitts S-1 accident near Incline Vlg, Nevada, February 6, 2007
On February 6, 2007 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Brown Pitts S-1, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N20164, was substantially damaged in an accident near Incline Vlg, Nevada. 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 airplane collided with a frozen lake for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's intentional operation of the airplane while impaired by alcohol and the FAA's failure to obtain additional information about the pilot's self-reported driver's license suspension.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 6, 2007 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Incline Vlg, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Brown Pitts S-1, amateur-built
- Registration
- N20164 · no longer on the register · serial 001SB
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental bi-plane collided with the frozen surface of a lake in daytime visual flight rules conditions during a local area flight. The pilot built, maintained, and raced the airplane, in which he had accrued over 700 hours. The commercial air carrier pilot reported 30,000 hours on his last airman medical application. An examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact. Located within the pilot's flight suit was a broken beer bottle. The pilot's post-mortem chest blood ethanol level was 0.155 percent, and post-mortem urine ethanol level was 0.279 percent. These levels suggest recent ingestion of substantial amounts of alcohol, amounts which would render a non-tolerant individual unconscious or nearly so. The FAA was aware of the pilot's driver's license suspension 10 months prior to the accident, but had not obtained details of the arrest. The arrest record for that suspension detailed that this pilot had been driving a vehicle at a blood alcohol level of more than 0.250. Had the FAA obtained this arrest record, they would have been aware that the pilot met the FAA's definition for substance dependence due to increased tolerance, and he likely would not have been issued a medical certificate without having undergone thorough evaluation and treatment.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 30,000 hours in all; 700 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 713.2 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 1, 2006
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming IO-360-B1E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CXP Carson City NV at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 16 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from RNO, 22 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 N20164 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.