Roe Cleo WITTMAN TAILWIND W10 accident near Pearland, TX
On October 26, 2016, a Roe Cleo WITTMAN TAILWIND W10 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pearland, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 26, 2016
- Place
- Pearland, TX
- Aircraft
- Roe Cleo WITTMAN TAILWIND W10 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 29.525°N, 95.239°W
- NTSB ID
- 20161026X95948
Official records · CEN17FA026
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 26, 2016, about 1730 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Wittman Tailwind W-10 airplane, N557CL, was destroyed when it impacted terrain on the eastern edge of Pearland Regional Airport (LVJ), Pearland, Texas. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The airplane departed on runway 14 at LVJ just before the accident. One witness at the airport stated that he saw the airplane climb out in a "nose high" attitude. Another witness at the airport stated that the airplane's flight "was uncoordinated to the point that it did not look right." Both witnesses reported seeing the airplane enter an uncoordinated turn, then enter a stall/spin. These witnesses as well as a third witness said that the airplane's engine was at full power. Video captured on an airport surveillance camera showed the airplane departing runway 14 in a nose-high attitude. During climbout, the wings were rocking left and right. At an altitude about 500 ft above ground level, near midfield, the airplane entered a left turn. The airplane then leveled to straight and level flight for a brief period before entering a steep left turn with a nose-high attitude. The left wing dropped, and the airplane entered a nose-down spin to the left and completed one full rotation before impacting the ground. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 3
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during a climbing turn after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate training in the airplane, which did not include training on the airplane's stall characteristics.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
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.
