Brown PITTS S-1 N20164

Summary

On 6 February 2007 at about 23:30 local time, a Brown PITTS S-1 registered N20164 was involved in an accident near Incline Vlg, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 February 2007 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Incline Vlg, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

39.1750, -119.9017

Aircraft

Brown PITTS S-1

Registration

N20164

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carson City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07LA060

1 person died.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.