Piper PA-28-181 accident near Sugar Land, TX
On December 10, 2003, a Piper PA-28-181 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sugar Land, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 10, 2003
- Place
- Sugar Land, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 29.620°N, 95.656°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031215X02030
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 9, 2003, approximately 1905 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-181, single-engine airplane, N47413, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following an in-flight collision with power lines while on final approach to runway 35 at the Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR), near Sugar Land, Texas. The non-instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Airmar, Inc, of Cypress, Texas, and was being operated by MVP Aero Academy of Houston, Texas. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from the Weiser Airpark (EYQ), near Houston, Texas, at 1830, and was destined for SGR. The controller at the SGR air traffic control tower reported that the pilot first reported in 8 miles north of SGR, and was told to report midfield downwind. The controller contacted the pilot of the accident airplane when it was abeam the approach end of runway 35, asking him if he could see the runway. The pilot confirmed he saw the runway, and was cleared to land. Subsequently, the controller reported seeing "a flash similar to the explosion of a transformer," followed by loss of electric power to the tower and runway lights. Tower personnel did not recall seeing a landing light from the airplane, but confirmed that the airplane was at 1,000 feet on downwind. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a private pilot's certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, issued on March 5, 1998,
Probable cause
The pilots failure to maintain clearance with powerlines during a VFR approach. Contributing factors were the prevailing dark night conditions,and the high winds.
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Browse: Texas · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
