West Houston Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77429
Tuesady, September 28, 2004 13:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 52-hour student pilot reported that while taxiing to the parking area after landing, he heard a "loud bang on the left side of the airplane" as the airplane moved to the left. After powering down the airplane, the student pilot exited the airplane and realized the left wing struck a parked aircraft. The student pilot added that he was on his first solo cross-country flight and became overwhelmed with anxiety. The student pilot eventually became lost and decided to land at the first available airport.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a parked aircraft while taxiing. A contributing factor was the student pilot's anxiety attack.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/2004
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Houston
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77429
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 294906N
Event Location Longitude 0954036W
Event Location Airport West Houston Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IWS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 111
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 239
Weather Observation Facility ID IAH
Elevation of weather observation facility 97
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 13000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16716
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Sep 28 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1650
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2004 11:17AM
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 N189W
NTSB Number FTW04CA245
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17255907
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Aug 26 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 39.2
Airframe Hours 4091.7
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Windsock Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 21904 Hempstead Hwy.
Aircraft Owner City Cypress
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77429
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 No
Departure Airport Code CLL
Departure City College Station
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code EYQ
Destination City Houston
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi - from landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Oct 12 2004 2:01PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 3953
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --