Pitts SPECIAL N501L

Summary

On 7 April 1986 at about 19:30 local time, a Pitts SPECIAL registered N501L, operated by Robert M. Vagner, was involved in an accident near Homestead, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

7 April 1986 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Homestead, Florida, United States

Coordinates

25.4901, -80.5102

Aircraft

Pitts SPECIAL

Registration

N501L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robert M. Vagner

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Miami → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA86FA115

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT WAS ON A FLT TO PRACTICE AEROBATIC MNVRS IN A DESIGNATED PRACTICE AREA. A WITNESS, WHO WAS DRIVING NEARBY, STATED THAT HE SAW THE ACFT 'FALLING STRAIGHT DOWN' & CRASH IN A TOMATO FIELD. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED EVIDENCE THAT THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN, RGT WING LOW ATTITUDE. NO FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE ACFT'S FUEL SYS & NO EVIDENCE OF A FUEL SPILL WAS NOTED. ALSO, NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. TOXICOLOGY CHECKS INDICATED THERE WAS A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN THE PLT'S BLOOD, BUT NO ALCOHOL WAS DETECTED IN HIS STOMACH CONTENTS OR URINE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.