# Accident 20001110038629A: Piper PA28R200, La Porte, TX, November 10, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 10, 2000, 01:30 local time - Place: La Porte, TX - Airport: La Porte Municipal Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.6593° N, 95.0410° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6593&lon=-95.0410&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2068T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2068T-2012-08-08) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28R-200 (registry code 7102811, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-200) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28R200 - Reported engine: LYC IO360C1C - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 218 total, 28 in this make and model, 92 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW01LA019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA019) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001110038629A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) SEE PTRS FTW01LA019 (.4)ON NOVEMBER 10, 2000, APPROXIMATELY 0130 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28R, SINGLE ENGINE AIRPLANE, N2068T, REGISTERED TO DE AVIATION OF LAPORTE, TEXAS, AND OPERATED BY HARVEY AND RIHN AVIATION OF LAPORTE, TEXAS, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AFTER COLLIDING WITH A NON-DIRECTIONAL BEACON (NDB) ANTENNA AND A FENCE DURING A FORCED LANDING AFTER TAKE OFF FROM RUNWAY 30 AT THE LAPORTE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, LAPORTE, TEXAS. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS 3 PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. BRIGHT NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE AND HIS 3 PASSENGERS INTENDED TO MAKE A SCENIC NIGHT FLIGHT AROUND THE LOCAL AREA. AFTER A NORMAL PREFLIGHT AND RUN-UP, THE PILOT TAXIED ONTO RUNWAY 30 AND COMMENCED TAKE OFF. THE INITIAL ROTATION TO FLIGHT "SEEMED UNEVENTFUL" AS THE PILOT RAISED THE LANDING GEAR, AND A "POSITIVE RATE OF CLIMB WAS ESTABLISHED." AS THE "GEAR WENT INTO TRANSITION" [RETRACTED], THE "ENGINE SEEMED TO PUT OUT AN IMMEDIATE DECREASE IN POWER." THE PILOT THEN "QUICKLY" LOWERED THE NOSE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED. THE AIRSPEED DID NOT INCREASE AND THE ATTITUDE WAS LEVEL, SO THE PILOT "LET THE NOSE PITCH DOWN TO MAINTAIN CONTROLLABLE FLIGHT." UPON REALIZING THAT OBSTACLES AT THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY WERE NOT GOING TO BE CLEARED, THE PILOT TURNED TO THE LEFT AS THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO "SINK TOWARD THE GROUND." PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN IN A GRASSY AREA, THE PILOT "PULLED POWER" AND LOWERED THE LANDING GEAR. JUST AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE RIGHT WING STRUCK AN NDB ANTENNA SUPPORT WIRE [GUY WIRE], TEARING THE WING FROM THE FUSELAGE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN STRUCK A FENCE POST ADJACENT TO THE NDB BUILDING. THE CERTIFIED MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE WAS 2,600 LBS. THE PILOT, WHO WEIGHS 190 LBS., REPORTED THE WEIGHTS OF HIS PASSENGERS TO BE 140, 160, AND 160 LBS., RESPECTIVELY. THE FUEL LOAD WAS 45 GALLONS, APPROXIMATELY 270 LBS. ACCORDING TO OPERATOR'S RECORDS, THE EMPTY WEIGHT OF N2068T WAS 1583.5 LBS., WHICH MADE ITS USEFUL LOAD 1016.5 LBS. UTILIZING THE WEIGHT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE PILOT, THE COMBINED LOAD AT THE TIME OF TAKEOFF WAS ESTIMATED AT 956 LBS., THUS MAKING THE GROSS WEIGHT AT TAKE OFF APPROXIMATELY 2503.5 LBS.VISUAL EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY AN FAA INSPECTOR AND THE OPERATOR DID NOT DISCOVER ANY PRE-EXISTING ANOMALIES. USABLE FUEL WAS PRESENT. DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE PRECLUDED A POST-ACCIDENT TEST RUN. ## 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 FTW01LA019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA019), Nov 10, 2000: Piper PA-28R-200 (N2068T), Laporte, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Factors were the bright night light condition, and the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. ## Other reports on N2068T (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19871007063869I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19871007063869I), Oct 7, 1987: Piper PA28R200 (N2068T), Brookshire, TX, Minor damage. Landed gear up after a normal approach. Automatic system failed due to blockage of the airspeed sensor. 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.