- Date
- October 3, 2009, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Jones Creek, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N797SBBeech E18S
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 3, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20091003018199A
- Case key
- 74856
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to see and avoid the radio tower.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was spraying a marshy area for mosquitoes. After making a spray pass, he made a right 180-degree turn to an easterly heading and the right wing struck a radio tower. The pilot didn't know the extent of the damage and there appeared to be a "controllability issue." He elected to land in a pasture. During the landing, the airplane struck and killed a cow and a bull, then collided with a pile of wood, resulting in substantial damage. The unlit 100-foot radio tower was within the walls of a correctional facility, was used for ground communications, and has been there for several years. It was not marked on sectional charts.
Factual narrative
On October 3, 2009, approximately 1030 central daylight time, a Beech E18S, N797SB, operated by Brazoria County, Texas, and piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck a radio tower and impacted terrain while maneuvering near Lake Jackson, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The public use flight was being operated as an aerial application flight for mosquito control. The pilot, the sole occupant on board the airplane, was not injured. The flight originated at Brazoria County Airport (LBX), Angleton, Texas, approximately 0915. According to the pilot's accident report, he was spraying a marshy area. After making a spray pass, the pilot made a right 180-degree turn to a easterly heading, and the right wing struck a radio tower. The pilot did not know the extent of the damage and there appeared to be a "controllability issue." He elected to land in a pasture. During the landing, the airplane struck and killed a cow and a bull, then collided with a pile of wood. The on-scene investigation revealed the airplane landed in a field about a mile away. The left engine, left landing gear, and tail wheel were torn off. Parts of the communications antenna were still embedded in the right wing edge, just outboard of the engine. The right propeller was gouged. According to the FAA inspector who went to the scene, the unlit 100-foot radio tower was within the walls of the Clemens Correctional Facility, was used for ground communications, and has been there for several years. It is not marked on the Houston Sectional Chart.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N797SB
- Reported as
- Beech E18S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- BA-172
- Engines
- P&W R-985 SERIES, 450 horsepower, reciprocatingP&W R-985 SERIES, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft - local · Public use
- Operator
- Brazoria County
- Registered owner
- Brazoria County
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- LBX · Angleton, TX
- Destination
- LBX · Angleton, TX
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,832 total · 37 in this make and model · 1,735 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 2,927 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- LBX
Docket · 8
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 5, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.