Pearland Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pearland, Texas 77584
Wednesday, September 1, 2004 19:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 246.6-hour pilot was conducting a series of touch-and-go landings in an amateur-built race airplane. While the airplane was turning from base leg to final within the airport traffic pattern, a witness observed the airplane "descending rapidly in a nose down" attitude through approximately 500 feet agl. The witness stated that the airplane "fell straight down in a spin" until it impacted terrain. Another witness located at the airport reported seeing the airplane turn left base at a bank angle of approximately 90 degrees. Examination of the engine and airframe were conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration and no anomalies were noted. Review of the pilot's logbooks revealed he had accumulated approximately 2 hours in the accident make/model airplane. The former owner of the accident airplane reported that the pilot had recently purchased the airplane approximately six months prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed sufficient for flight resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin while turning from the base leg of the traffic pattern to final. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience for the make/model airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/1/2004
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1945
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Pearland
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77584
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 293116N
Event Location Longitude 0951431W
Event Location Airport Pearland Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LVJ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 43
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID LVJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 43
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) 1376
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17309
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Sep 1 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2015
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 24 2005 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Houston, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3TW
NTSB Number FTW04LA226
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cassutt
Aircraft Model IIIM
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 088
Certified Max Gross Weight 850
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 18 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 280.1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mary Jane Bernard
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2904 Neches River Drive
Aircraft Owner City Pearland
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77584
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Michael G Bernard
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2904 Neches River Drive
Operator City Pearland
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77584
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 LVJ
Departure City Pearland
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code LVJ
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 --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32L
Runway Length 4302
Runway Width 70
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --