# Accident 20051106030749A: Piper PA34220T, Houston, TX, November 6, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 6, 2005, 07:55 local time
- Place: Houston, TX
- Airport: David Wayne Hooks Memorial Arp
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.0669° N, 95.5481° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0669&lon=-95.5481&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4171Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4171Z-2013-09-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-34-220T (registry code 7103420, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-220t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA34220T
- Reported engine: CONT LTSIO360RB
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,795 total, 43 in this make and model, 57 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DFW06FA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW06FA021) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051106030749A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PIPER SENECA V WAS DESTROYED UPON IMPACT WITH TERRAIN FOLLOWING A LOSS OF CONTROL WHILE ON THE LOC RWY 17R APPROACH AT THE DWH AIRPORT. THE 55 YEAR OLD PILOT AND HIS 10 YEAR OLD PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED, AND A MOTORIST RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES WHEN HER CAR WAS DESTROYED BY THE CRASH DEBRIS. THE REPORTED WEATHER TWO MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT WAS 300 FOOT OVERCAST WITH FOG, WITH 3 MILES VISIBILITY WHICH DETERIORATED TO 1 3/4 STATUTE MILES VISIBILITY FOUR MINUTES LATER. STRAIGHT-IN MINIMUMS FOR THE LOC RWY 17R APPROACH SHOW A MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE OF 620 FEET MSL (468 FEET AGL). RADAR DATA FROM HOUSTON TRACON SHOWS THE SENECA'S REPORTED ALTITUDE WAS 500 FEET MSL (350 FEET AGL) DURING THE LAST MILE OF THE APPROACH, THEN DESCENDED TO 300 FEET MSL (150 FEET AGL) FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS BEFORE CLIMBING FROM 300 FEET TO 800 FEET MSL IN ONLY 14 SECONDS. RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST 30 SECONDS LATER. AN EYEWITNESS REPORTED SEEING THE SENECA EMERGE FROM THE BASE OF THE OVERCAST IN A NOSE DOWN SPIRAL. ANALYSIS AT THE SCENE SHOWED A CRASH DEBRIS DISTRIBUTION ALONG A TRACK OF 345 DEGREES. THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE, ALTHOUGH FIREFIGHTERS REPORTED A LARGE AREA OF FUEL SPILL.

## 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 DFW06FA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW06FA021), Nov 6, 2005: Piper PA-34-220T (N4171Z), Tomball, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft while attempting to execute a missed approach procedure in weather that was below landing minimums. Contributing factors were the low ceiling,…

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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