West Houston Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77084
Thursday, August 2, 2012 10:28 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot aborted the takeoff in the twin-engine airplane due to a rough running engine. The airplane exited the end of the runway and struck an embankment. Postaccident examination and testing of the airplaneā€™s left engine revealed damage to the ignition harness and rough operation during a test run. Replacement of the worn harness resulted in normal operation during a second test run. Based on the available information, it is likely that the airplane's left engine experienced a partial loss of power due to the damaged ignition harness. The reason for the damaged ignition harness could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A damaged ignition harness, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/2/2012
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1028
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Houston
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77084
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
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 --
Airport Elevation 111
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1015 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID TME
Elevation of weather observation facility 166
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 25
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31886
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 3 2013 1:10PM
User who most recently changed record brajo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3644A
NTSB Number CEN12LA515
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BEECH
Aircraft Model E-55
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number TE-778
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 16 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3706
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name ALFORD STEPHEN J
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77080
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name ALFORD STEPHEN J
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Houston
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77080
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 IWS
Departure City Houston
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1028
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code IWS
Destination City Houston
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2013 11:21AM
User who most recently changed record brajo
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 3953
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --