William P. Hobby Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77061
Friday, May 12, 2000 11:51 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot did not perform an aircraft runup and proceeded to takeoff. Numerous witnesses observed the airplane pitch up to a 70 to 80-degree nose high attitude upon liftoff. The witnesses then observed the nose of the airplane momentarily pitch nose down slightly and immediately pitch nose high again. They then reported observing the airplane roll to the left and impact the ground in a nose low, left wing low attitude. Shortly after impacting the ground, a fire erupted. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the pilot had failed to remove the control lock pin from the control column. A safety alert, service instruction, and mandatory service bulletin were issued by the aircraft manufacturer, which dealt with control lock awareness and a control lock modification. The pilot/aircraft owner did not comply with the service instruction and mandatory service bulletin, nor did he have the original control lock assembly installed. A conservative weight and balance computation indicated that the pilot loaded the airplane beyond the airplane's certificated maximum gross weight and aft center of gravity limitations. An autopsy of the pilot revealed that he had suffered from an 'acute myocardial infarct' prior to the airplane impacting the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the loss of control on takeoff as a result of the pilot's failure to remove the flight control lock due to his inadequate preflight inspection. A contributing factor was the pilot exceeding the aircraft's certificated maximum weight and balance limitations.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/12/2000
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1151
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City HOUSTON
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77061
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport WILLIAM P. HOBBY AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HOU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 47
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1150 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID HOU
Elevation of weather observation facility 47
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2500
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 6
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 6
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1050
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 12 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1215
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2001 3:22PM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4005A
NTSB Number FTW00FA146
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model BE-95-B55
Aircraft Series Identifier BE-95-B55
Aircraft Serial Number TC-1318
Certified Max Gross Weight 5100
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Nov 30 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KENT J. CHATAGNIER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 110 FLYING SCOT STREET
Aircraft Owner City AUSTIN
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78734
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code HOU
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1151
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code L49
Destination City GALLIANO
Destination State LA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 2 2001 4:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 7602
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --