# Accident 19980416007099A: Amtr GLASAIRIII, St. Martinville, LA, April 16, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 16, 1998, 20:20 local time
- Place: St. Martinville, LA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.1202° N, 91.8298° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.1202&lon=-91.8298&mi=10
- Aircraft: N238BC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N238BC-2013-04-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Young Robert N GLASAIR III (registry code 05624JY, https://openairdocs.org/model/young-robert-n-glasair-iii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR GLASAIRIII
- Reported engine: LYC IO540K1G5
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 2,000 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA185) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980416007099A

## Narrative

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

(TTY) EXPER ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, 2POB SUFFERED FATAL INJ, ACFT WAS DESTROYED. MARTINSVILLE, LA. (.4)THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED COMMERCIAL PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE AFTER ENCOUNTERING NIGHT INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS ACCOMPANIED BY MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE WHILE ON A NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT.  PRIOR TO THE LOST OF CONTROL, THE PILOT HAD BEEN RECEIVING VFR TRAFFIC ADVISORIES FROM HOUSTON CENTER AT 11,500 FEET. RADAR AND RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROXIMATELY 20 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA.  THE AIRPLANE WAS LAST OBSERVED BY RADAR AT 10,200 FEET.  NO DISTRESS CALLS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE AIRCRAFT. DEPARTURE CONTROL HAD ADVISED THE PILOT OF THE WEATHER ADVISORY CWA 102 WHICH CALLED FOR A 30 NM WIDE AREA ALONG HIS ROUTE OF FLIGHT OF MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE FROM 4,000 TO 12,000 FEET ASSOCIATED WITH WIND SHEAR.  ABOUT 20 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, A PILOT OF AN ATR72 AIRPLANE REPORTED ENCOUNTERING MODERATE-SEVERE TURBULENCE BETWEEN 5,000 AND 8,000 FEET, ABOUT 10.5 NM NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE.  THE PILOT HAD BEEN PROVIDED WITH WEATHER ADVISORIES CALLING FOR ADVERSE WEATHER AND MAR                                 GINAL VFR ALONG HIS ANTICIPATED ROUTE OF FLIGHT. NO STRUCTURAL OR MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WERE OBSERVED DURING AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE.          (-23) ON APRIL 16, 1998, AT 2020 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (CDT), A YOUNG GLASAIR III EXPERIMENTAL AIRPLANE, N238BC, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED DURING TERRAIN IMPACT NEAR ST. MARTINVILLE, LOUISIANA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED THROUGHOUT THE AREA AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR, PART 91, PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND PILOT RATED PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA, APPROXIMATELY 1950 CDT, FOR A DESTINATION OF LAKELAND, FLORIDA.

## 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 FTW98FA185](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA185), Apr 17, 1998: Young Glasair III (N238BC), St. Martinville, LA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft as a result of VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and flight into known adverse weather conditions. Contributing factors were…

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.