Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rio Grande City, Texas 78582
Thursday, January 2, 1997 8:45 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot planned to navigate south along the road for approximately 25 nautical miles to the Starr County Airport, near Rio Grande City. The pilot stated that while en route to the airport, at an estimated altitude of 1,000 feet MSL, the left engine propeller impacted guide wires and the outer portion of the right wing impacted a tower. According to the Brownsville sectional chart, the tower, which is located on the west side of the road, is 1,002 feet MSL high (519 feet AGL). The pilot reported that he 'checked [the] map to track his position along highway 755, and when he looked up, the tower was right in front, too late to take evasive action.' The pilot also reported that after the collision with the tower, he aborted the approach and proceeded to the McCallen Miller International Airport, where after extending the landing gear manually, an uneventful landing was made.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the tower. Factors were the low ceilings and the pilot's diverted attention to his navigation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/2/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 845 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | RIO GRANDE CITY |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78582 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 2 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1030 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:05PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1552D |
| NTSB Number | FTW97LA074 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | C90A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | C90A |
| Aircraft Serial Number | LJ1204 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 10100 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 8 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 11 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 108 |
| Airframe Hours | 1803 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SHEERIN CHARTER SERVICE L.C. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 7701 BROADWAY, SUITE 206 |
| Aircraft Owner City | SAN ANTONIO |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78209 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT SERVICES |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 115 PAUL WILKINS DRIVE |
| Operator City | SAN ANTONIO |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 78216 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SAT |
| Departure City | SAN ANTONIO |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 740 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 67R |
| Destination City | RIO GRANDE CITY |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |