Cessna 177 accident near Price, TX

On January 31, 2017, a Cessna 177 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Price, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

January 31, 2017

Place

Price, TX

Aircraft

Cessna 177 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

32.131°N, 94.954°W

NTSB ID

20170131X81133

Official records · CEN17FA095

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• FCC Tower Registration: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• FCC Decommissioned Tower Registration: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 31, 2017, at 1540 central standard time, a Cessna 177 single-engine airplane, N2810X, impacted wooded terrain after striking a communications tower guy-wire near Price, Texas. The commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Eagle Sky Patrol, Deadwood, South Dakota, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 aerial observation flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed near the accident site at the time of the accident and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed from Athens Municipal Airport (F44), Athens, Texas, at 1509. According to the operator, the pilot departed from Houston Southwest Airport, Houston, Texas, on the morning of the accident to perform aerial observation of pipelines. After performing a portion of the planned aerial observation flight, the pilot refueled the airplane at F44. After departure and while transitioning to the east between two pipelines, which were about 112 miles apart, the airplane's left wing contacted the top guy-wire of a 449-ft tall communications tower. The airplane impacted terrain and a post-impact fire consumed most of the airplane. GPS data showed that, for the last 10 minutes of flight, the airplane's altitude varied between 219 and 552 ft above ground level (agl). The last data point showed the airplane at 403 ft agl. A witness, who was located at his residence adjacent to the accident site, reported he heard an airplane engine "rev up", an initial explosion, and a secondary explosion. Two addition

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a communications tower guy-wire. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to conduct a long distance transition flight at a low altitude.

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.