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Atlas / NTSB / ERA14CA379

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA14CA379

2014-08-09 Lakeville, New York, United States Airport · NY15 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N893DC

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CHRISTEN INDUSTRIES INC PITTS S-2B

Year of manufacture

1990 · 24 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING AEIO-540 SER (260 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19900328

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AC50C7

Registrant of record

CORPORATE AIR CHARTER INC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's decision to favor the right side of the relatively narrow turf runway while landing, resulting in inadvertent contact with tall grass and a berm.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the aerobatic, tailwheel-equipped biplane planned to attend a fly-in event at the destination airport. As he overflew the 2,500-foot-long by 60-foot-wide private turf runway, he noted that numerous airplanes were parked along its left side, and elected to favor the right side of the runway during the landing. During the landing roll the pilot felt a "tickle" in the control stick, and the airplane veered right into the tall grass and berm located along the runway's right edge. The airplane subsequently rolled left and right, striking both wingtips on the ground in the process, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of the aerobatic, tailwheel-equipped biplane planned to attend a fly-in event at the destination airport. As he overflew the 2,500-foot-long by 60-foot-wide private turf runway, he noted that numerous airplanes were parked along its left side, and elected to favor the right side of the runway during the landing. During the landing roll the pilot felt a "tickle" in the control stick, and the airplane veered right into the tall grass and berm located along the runway's right edge. The airplane subsequently rolled left and right, striking both wingtips on the ground in the process, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Debris/dirt/foreign object-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_ERA14CA379.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.