Piper PA24 accident near San Antonio, TX
On December 2, 2019, a Piper PA24 (airplane) was involved in an accident near San Antonio, TX. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 2, 2019
- Place
- San Antonio, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA24 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 29.551°N, 98.500°W
- NTSB ID
- 20191201X05432
Official records · CEN20FA023
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Audio Summary: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 1, 2019, about 1825 central standard time, a Piper PA24-250 airplane, N6678P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near the San Antonio International Airport (KSAT), San Antonio, Texas. The private pilot, flight instructor, and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight was conducted under a visual flight rules flight plan, at night, with flight following. The airplane departed Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR), Houston, Texas, about 1716 with the intended destination of Grier Airport (71TX), Boerne, Texas. Paperwork found in the airplane showed that the pilot was training for an airplane instrument rating, although it is unknown if training was being conducted before the accident, or if the training was to begin at 71TX. While in cruise flight, the pilot reported to San Antonio Approach Control that the airplane experienced an “engine failure” and declared an emergency. The pilot initially accepted clearance to circle for runway 04 at SAT and was then cleared to circle “at his discretion.” The pilot reported that he had the airport in sight and was cleared to land on runway 13R. The pilot responded that they were “circling above” and would land on runway 13R. During the approach, a brief radio transmission with the sound of someone distressed was heard on tower’s radio frequency and the tower controller witnessed the airplane in a spiraling descent. A witness on the ground described seeing the airplane turn to the east and
Probable cause
The loss of engine power for reason that could not be determined. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering to landing which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin with insufficient altitude to recover.
More accidents in TX
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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.
