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).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 23, 1998 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mccall, Idaho · Mccall
- 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 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA99LA009.