# Accident 19970102000119A: Beech C90A, Rio Grande City, TX, January 2, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 2, 1997, 08:45 local time
- Place: Rio Grande City, TX
- Airport: Starr County Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Scud Running
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.5491° N, 98.7205° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.5491&lon=-98.7205&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1552D, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1552D) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech C90A (registry code 1152911, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-c90a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH C90A
- Reported engine: PWA PT6A21
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 13,500 total, 9,000 in this make and model, 132 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA074) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970102000119A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CANCELLED IFR. TRIED A VISUAL TO AIRPORT UNDER LOW CEILING. STRUCK A TOWER. DAMAGE LEFT PROP,RIGHT WING. DIVERTED. (-23) ON JANUARY 2, 1997, AT 0845 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A BEECH C90A, N1552D, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED UPON IMPACT WITH A TOWER DURING APPROACH NEAR RIO GRANDE CITY, TEXAS. THE AIRPLANE, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE SHEERIN CHARTER SERVICE L.C., OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, WAS BEING OPERATED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT RATED PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE, WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE BUSINESS FLIGHT FOR WHICH AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT 0745. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE IFR PORTION OF HIS FLIGHT PLAN WAS TERMINATED AFTER HE FOUND A CLEARING IN THE BROKEN CEILING NEAR THE DIAMOND "O" RANCH AIRSTRIP, NEAR LA GLORIA, TEXAS. THE PILOT PLANNED TO NAVIGATESOUTH ALONG THE ROAD FOR APPROXIMATELY 25 NAUTICAL MILES TO THE STARR COUNTY AIRPORT, NEAR RIO GRANDE CITY. THE PILOT ADDED THAT WHILE EN ROUTE TO THE AIRPORT, AT AN ESTIMATED ALTITUDE OF 1,000 FEET MSL, THE LEFT ENGINE PROPE                                   LLER IMPACTED GUIDE WIRES AND THE OUTER PORTION OF THE RIGHT WING IMPACTED THE TOWER. ACCORDING TO THE BROWNSVILLE SECTIONAL CHART, THE TOWER WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE ROAD, IS 1,002 FEET MSL HIGH (519 FEET AGL). THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER THE COLLISION WITH THE TOWER, HE ABORTED THE APPROACH AND PROCEEDED TO THE MCCALLEN MILLER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, NEAR MCCALLEN, TEXAS, WHERE AFTER EXTENDING THE LANDING GEAR MANUALLY, AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING WAS MADE. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME REVEALED THAT A 65-INCH SECTION OF OUTER PORTION OF THE RIGHT WING WAS EITHER DAMAGED OR MISSING, TWO PROPELLER BLADES ON THE LEFT ENGINE PROPELLER WERE DAMAGED, AND A 12-INCH INCISION WAS FOUND ON THE LEFT MID WING SECTION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97LA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA074), Jan 2, 1997: Beech C90A (N1552D), Rio Grande City, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the tower. Factors were the low ceilings and the pilot's diverted attention to his navigation.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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