Houston Southwest Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sugar Land, Texas 77478
Tuesady, March 2, 2004 17:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While en route to his destination, the 170-hour non-instrument rated private pilot encountered adverse weather conditions and elected to perform a precautionary landing in an open field. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a barbed-wire fence, nosed over, and came to rest in the inverted position. The pilot had not obtained a weather briefing; however, he had obtained some weather information on the internet from DUATS.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper weather evaluation, and his encounter with adverse weather conditions. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the precautionary landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/2/2004
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Sugar Land
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77478
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Houston Southwest Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AXH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 6
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 68
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SGR
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
Density Altitude (feet) 851
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15524
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date Mar 2 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
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 FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2588A
NTSB Number FTW04LA087
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-38-112
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 38-78A0768
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 5 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 98
Airframe Hours 4378.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name King Interest Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address 17903 Airfield Lane
Aircraft Owner City Pearland
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77581
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name King Flight Service
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code VCT
Departure City Victoria
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LVJ
Destination City Pearland
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2004 5:11PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --