Sturges SPEZIO SPORT accident near Mathis, TX
On October 24, 1999, a Sturges SPEZIO SPORT (airplane) was involved in an accident near Mathis, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 24, 1999
- Place
- Mathis, TX
- Aircraft
- Sturges SPEZIO SPORT · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 28.090°N, 97.819°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X19958
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 24, 1999, at 1752 central daylight time, a Sturges Spezio Sport amateur-built experimental airplane, N75JS, was destroyed following impact with power lines while maneuvering near Mathis, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot and his pilot rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. One of the four occupants of the automobile was seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight, for which a flight plan was not filed. The local flight originated from the Arrowhead private airstrip near Lagarto, Texas, at an undetermined time. According to witnesses traveling on Interstate Highway 37, the airplane was observed flying "very low" toward the east before turning to the south over I-37. The airplane was observed in a "continuous descent" and the witnesses "thought that the airplane was attempting to land on the south-bound lanes of I-37." The airplane's landing gear impacted a set of power lines running perpendicular to the interstate, veering the plane to the left. Subsequently, the airplane impacted another set of power lines and was "flung nose down onto the north-bound lanes of I-37." The witnesses stated that the airplane and the automobile collided and then slid off the road to the east. The wood and composite airplane was fragmented in several sections as it came to rest atop and adjacent to the car. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the power lines while maneuvering.
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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.
