Nicks PW-5 accident near Waller, TX
On September 23, 1998, a Nicks PW-5 (glider) was involved in an accident near Waller, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 23, 1998
- Place
- Waller, TX
- Aircraft
- Nicks PW-5 · Glider
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 30.050°N, 95.920°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11066
NTSB summary
On September 23, 1998, approximately 1519 central daylight time, an amateur-built experimental Nicks PW-5 glider, N110WN, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during final approach to landing in a pasture near Waller, Texas. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant and the owner/builder of the glider, was fatally injured. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross country flight that departed Coulter Field Airport in Bryan, Texas, at 1350. The flight's intended destination was the Soaring Club of Houston Gliderport near Waller. The driver of a ground chase vehicle following the glider on its 37-nautical mile flight reported that about 1500, the pilot radioed that he was climbing over the Navasota Municipal Airport. (The Navasota Airport is located about two thirds of the way between Coulter Field and Houston Gliderport.) Approximately 1505, the pilot radioed that he was departing Navasota and heading toward Houston Gliderport. About 10 minutes later, the pilot radioed that he was "too low to make Houston Gliderport and too far from Navasota" and that he "had a pasture in sight and was landing out." A witness, who was seated on his front porch, reported that he observed the glider coming from the north-northeast towards his house, at an altitude of "25 to 50 feet above the ground." The glider "made a sharp left turn away from the house," and its left wing tip hit the ground. The nose of the glider then impacted the ground "hard at a fairly steep angle," and the glider "slid sideways" a
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance.
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Browse: Texas
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
