Pitts S-1 accident near Mccall, Idaho, October 23, 1998
On October 23, 1998 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Pitts S-1, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N144JS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mccall, Idaho (Mccall 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-in-command's failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors were the uneven taxiway, inadequate airport maintenance (temporary threshold marking) by the airport management, and a ditch alongside the taxiway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 23, 1998 · about 11:00 pm local time · cases in 1998
- Place
- Mccall, Idaho · Mccall · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Pitts S-1, amateur-built · all S-1s on the register
- Registration
- N144JS · no longer on the register · serial 1144
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Upon return to the airport after a local flight, the pilot-in-command ascertained that the single north/south runway was closed. He then initiated an approach to the 50-foot wide asphalt parallel taxiway which had been NOTAM'ed by airport management as the alternate landing runway during runway closure. The pilot touched down short of the 1,200 foot displaced threshold of the landing taxiway and rolled over a hump during which the aircraft bounced. The pilot then lost directional control and the aircraft rolled off the taxiway into a drainage ditch alongside the taxiway, coming to rest in a nose-over attitude. The displacement to the taxiway threshold (upwind of the hump) was reported by the FBO to consist of plywood which had not been painted in a conspicuous color and was placed in the grass alongside the taxiway at the intended displacement location.
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: 2,261 hours in all; 680 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 325 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, July 1, 1998; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MYL at 10:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 4,962 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1.5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:26 pm from MYL
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N144JS: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Pitts S-1 22 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Pitts 46 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360 390 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- MC Call Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Idaho 1,535 since 1982 · 288 in the last ten years
- Idaho 4,199 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA99LA009.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.