N51HCPitts S-1T · 1985

On August 12, 2025, about 1019 mountain standard time, a Pitts S-1T, N51HC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Goodyear, Arizona. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot did not make radio contact with the air traffic control tower, nor was there any evidence he was in radio contact with anyone prior to or during the accident flight. There was no automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data for the accident flight. Recorded radar data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed a primary target that started near the airplane’s known departure point at 1014:47 and ended near the accident site at 1019:37. The flight track was consistent with the airplane departing from Goodyear and flying south. At 1019:23, the last 14 seconds of data was consistent with the airplane progressively increasing its bank angle in a left turn, that was also consistent with a spiral (see figure 1 below). There was no altitude data.

Figure 1: Primary radar data

Investigators compiled a comparison of the airplane’s past ADS-B data and the radar primaries from the accident flight. When the pilot flew aerobatics, he appeared to regularly fly south to the aerobatic box whose track was similar in appearance to that of the accident flight track. Additionally, there were several occasions where the first maneuver was a sharp left turn, also similar to the last radar returns. (see figures 2 and 3 below).

Figure 2: Accident flight path compared to the flight path from November 11, 2024

Figure 3: Accident flight path compared to the flight path from May 02, 2023

A witness stated that on the morning of the accident he was driving down to his hangar when he observed the pilot taxiing the airplane at an unusually fast speed directly in front of his truck. He noted that the pilot was not wearing a headset and the long red “remove before flight” cover was installed on the pitot tube. The pilot’s spouse was running after the airplane and appeared very distressed. She asked the witness to help stop the pilot’s flight, explaining that he was on medication and should not be flying an airplane. He then witnessed the airplane exit the hangar area and make a sharp left 180° turn onto Taxiway Alpha. Immediately thereafter, the airplane sounded as though the pilot applied full power and he witnessed the airplane depart from the taxiway within a few hundred feet, briefly contacting the dirt between the taxiway and runway. A review of the airport security cameras located near the air traffic control tower confirmed the witness's observation of the departure sequence from the taxiway (see figure 3 below).

Figure 4: Departure from the taxiway

The pilot’s spouse stated that she and the pilot had taken an approximate month-long European vacation and returned on June 14. After the return, he could not sleep which they first attributed to jet lag. After a week without improvement, he sought medical care, but was limited to the medication he could be prescribed due to the Federal Aviation regulations. Despite his attempts, he continued to suffer from severe insomnia and visited the emergency room on two separate occasions. He had to take medical leave from his airline employment and the lack of sleep produced visible effects. She estimated he only received a few hours of sleep per night since they came back from their trip. He had appointments to see specialists and undergo a sleep study a few days after the accident. He had obtained a new medication the day before that accident and was finally able to sleep for 5 hours on the evening before the accident.

The spouse further stated that on the day of the accident, they planned to pick up documentation for the airline disability request from his primary care physician, who was located near the Goodyear airport. After getting the paperwork, they went to the airport because the pilot wanted to charge the airplane’s battery since it had been inactive for a long duration of time. He first suggested they get coffee while they waited but after a short time, he said he needed to run the engine for five minutes, which they could not do while it was inside the hangar. They moved the airplane outside and after getting inside, he started the engine. The spouse stated that she brought the pilot a bottle of water and became worried because she noticed that he had his lap belt fastened. The pilot handed her back the water and said goodbye. Thereafter, he began to taxi toward the runway, and she ran after him, yelling that he should not be flying.

The accident site was located in level desert terrain composed of soft sand with sporadic desert shrubs. The site was about 10 nautical miles south of the Goodyear Airport and about 4 nautical miles west of the Sierra Estrella Mountains. The elevation was approximately 1,150 feet mean sea level (msl).

The wreckage distribution measured approximately 100 feet and was oriented on a measured magnetic bearing of about 210°. The first identified point of contact was a circular ground crater about 3 ft deep. The engine was located inside the crater in an inverted attitude and exhibited a large hole in the lower crankcase. The propeller hub remained attached to the crankshaft; fractured propeller blades and blade-tip pieces were distributed around the immediate crater area. The main wreckage was near the crater, and the tail section was folded forward over the fuselage in a scorpion-like configuration. The airplane sustained major crush damage and fragmentation, precluding investigators from confirming control continuity.