Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Conroe, Texas 77303
Saturday, December 28, 2002 13:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses near the accident site reported that the airplane collided with a light pole in a residential backyard after the airplane "spun nose down into the ground." The FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported that the amateur-built airplane, which was mostly built out of fiberglass and composite materials, "was totally consumed by the post-impact fire." The inspector added that all of the major aircraft components were located within a 20-foot radius from the initial point of impact. At the time of his last medical examination on April 20, 2001, the pilot had accumulated a total of 1,230 hours. No discrepancies were found with the airframe or the engine that could have prevented normal flight operations.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall and a subsequent loss of control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/28/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1330
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Conroe
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77303
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 301900N
Event Location Longitude 0952001W
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KCXO
Elevation of weather observation facility 245
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
Density Altitude (feet) 436
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15493
NTSB Notification Source FAA, Fort Worth, TX
NTSB Notification Date Dec 28 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Houston, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3885J
NTSB Number FTW03LA068
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Barber
Aircraft Model Glasair
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 200
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Louis R. Tolbert
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1241 Du Barry Lane
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77018
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 CXO
Departure City Conroe
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1310
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2004 4:49PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --