Houston Intercontinental Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77205
Wednesday, November 2, 1988 3:02 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES AND TREES WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH. THE REPORTED WEATHER IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT WAS AN INDEFINITE CEILING ZERO, SKY OBSCURED, AND VISIBILITY 1/16 OF A MILE IN FOG. NO PREIMPACT FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE FOUND. THE PILOT HAD DIVERTED FROM HIS INTENDED DESTINATION DUE TO FOG.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

PILOT'S DECISION TO FLY THE APPROACH VISUALLY WITH OUTSIDE REFERENCE TO THE LIGHTS AND INADVERTENTLY DESCENDING BELOW THE DECISION HEIGHT OFF THE PROPER GLIDE PATH.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/2/1988
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 302
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City HOUSTON
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77205
Event Date Year 1988
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IAH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 98
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 312 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID IAH
Elevation of weather observation facility 98
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Obscured
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 2200
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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 Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2308
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 2 1988 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 417
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 40330
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 12:17PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N60819
NTSB Number FTW89FA012
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model 601B
Aircraft Series Identifier 601B
Aircraft Serial Number 0759-8062149
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 2
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 1988 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours 3202
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CONROE AVIATIO SERVICE INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 642
Aircraft Owner City CONROE
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77305
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name CONROE AVIATION SERVICES INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O.BOX 642
Operator City CONROE
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 77305
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BTR
Departure City BATON ROUGE
Departure State LA
Departure Country
Departure Time 135
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code CXO
Destination City CONROE
Destination State TX
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14L
Runway Length 12000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --