Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Bell Airfield Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Raymondville, Texas 78580
Friday, October 25, 2013 11:45 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The non-certificated pilot said he flew his unregistered airplane for about 2 hours "recreationally" before attempting to land at a privately owned airport, where he said the airplane was scheduled to have an annual inspection completed. The pilot said a gust of wind blew the airplane off course while on final approach and he attempted to go-around. The airplane then stalled and impacted a field short of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall and empennage. Though the pilot did not report an engine failure, examination of the airplane revealed both fuel tanks were empty and damage to the propeller was consistent with it not turning at the time of impact. The pilot reported there were no mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane and engine. The pilot did not have a valid Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical and had a reported history of a stroke. The pilot's daughter also reported that her father was starting to show symptoms of Sundowner's Syndrome.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The operation of an airplane by a non-certificated pilot. Contributing to the accident was his failure to maintain airspeed following a total loss of engine power at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Also contributing was the pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/25/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1145 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Raymondville |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78580 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 262853N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0974659W |
| Event Location Airport | Bell Airfield |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | XS56 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 30 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1142 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HRL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 36 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 7500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.23 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32166 |
| NTSB Notification Source | ASW ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 5 2013 1:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | yeal |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N20587 |
| NTSB Number | CEN14CA027 |
| 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 | 172M |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | M |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17261419 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2299 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | HERNANDEZ CESAR |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | RAYMONDVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 785802313 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | HERNANDEZ CESAR |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | RAYMONDVILLE |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 785802313 |
| 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 | 67R |
| Departure City | Rio Grande City |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | XS56 |
| Destination City | Raymondville |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 27 2013 2:03PM |
| User who most recently changed record | yeal |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 08 |
| Runway Length | 3000 |
| Runway Width | 85 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |