# NTSB CEN19FA221: Cessna 172, N517LA, Katy, TX, July 13, 2019 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report - Date: July 13, 2019, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Katy, TX - Coordinates: 29.774723, -95.721946 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7747&lon=-95.7219&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Lycoming Engines, FAA Houston FSDO, Textron Aviation - NTSB case key (mKey): 99830 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN19FA221 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/99830/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99830 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19FA221 ## Probable cause The pilot’s loss of airplane control and subsequent impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause) - [Performance/control parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause) ## Analysis The pilot departed on a local personal flight in day visual meteorological conditions. According to flight track data, after departure from the airport to the north, the airplane made a left turn to the southwest. The airplane continued to travel southwest over a major highway and then continued to the west. Over the final 1.5 minutes of the approximate 3-minute flight, the airplane's speed increased from about 104 kts to about 151 kts and the altitude descended from 1,050 ft to about 300 ft at the last data point. The airplane impacted a tree, parking lot, and building and the airplane was destroyed from fragmentation upon impact with terrain and the postimpact fire. A witness near the accident site thought that the airplane was going to land in an open field nearby. He stated that the airplane was "very low" and it "banked to the right" before impact. The witness reported that the engine sounded "totally revved with a high pitch" and the engine did not produce any abnormal sounds. Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Autopsy and toxicological testing of the pilot revealed no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with an inflight loss of control; however, the reason for the loss of control could not be determined based on the available information. ## Factual narrative A flight instructor employed at IWS flew an instructional flight in the accident airplane on the morning of the accident for 1.6 hours. The instructor reported that flight operations were conducted in the IWS traffic pattern and there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed no evidence of any uncorrected mechanical discrepancies. On July 13, 2019, about 1030 central daylight time, a Cessna 172S airplane, N517LA, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Katy, Texas. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot had rented the airplane to conduct a personal flight in the local area. A review of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data showed that the airplane departed from runway 33 at West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, about 1026 and made a left turn to the southwest. The airplane continued to travel southwest over Interstate 10 (I-10). The airplane traveled to the south of the Houston Methodist Continuing Care Hospital and then continued to the west before it disappeared from radar near South Fry Road. The final 1.5 minutes of flight track data showed the airspeed increased from 104 kts to 151 kts and the altitude descended from 1,050 ft to about 300 ft. The airplane impacted a tree, followed by a parking lot, and then a building that was located at the Mason Creek Community Center in Katy, Texas. There were no ground injuries. A witness who was playing tennis with seven other people at the community tennis courts observed and heard the accident airplane and thought that the airplane was going to land on the open field next to the community center. The airplane was "very low" and it "banked to the right." The airplane "slipped up" and then impacted the parking lot and building, followed by an explosion and fire. The witness reported that, while in flight, the engine sounded "totally revved with a high pitch" and did not produce any abnormal sounds. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, Houston, Texas, conducted an autopsy of the pilot. The cause of death was attributed to multiple, blunt force injuries. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Forensic Sciences Laboratory performed toxicology tests on specimens from the pilot; testing was negative for ethanol. Losartan was detected in the muscle and liver. Tests for carbon monoxide and cyanide was not performed. IWS is a privately owned, public use airport that has a Title 14 CFR Part 61 flight school that utilizes the Cessna 172S airplane and the Cessna R-182RG airplane. The accident site was located 112 ft above mean sea level and about 4 miles southwest of IWS. The initial impact point was a 60-ft-tall pine tree that displayed damage to several of its branches. Northwest of the damaged pine tree and on the north side of a parking lot, ground scars consistentwith rotation of the propeller blades were observed. The airplane fragmented into several sections upon impact with a small wood and concrete block building and was consumed by a postcrash fire. Flight control continuity was established for the airframe. All structural components of the airplane were located at the accident site. Examination found no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Whether the airplane's Garmin GFC 700 digital autopilot system was in use at the time of the accident could not be determined. ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event) - [Enroute: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - [Enroute: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N517LA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N517LA-2021-01-30), registration cancelled 2021-01-30, S/N 172S10915, built 2009 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 (S) - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-L2A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (registry code 41597, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S10915 - Year built: 2009 - Airframe hours: 4912 - Engines: Lycoming Engines IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: West Houston Airport Corporation - Registered owner: BLH Visions, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 2, 2019 - Departed: IWS, Houston, TX - Destination: IWS, Houston, TX - Equipment: Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 69; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 28, 2018; toxicology performed; flight hours: 310 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 320° at 7 knots, gusting 13 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 29.80 inHg - Observed at: KTME, 9 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20190713011499A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190713011499A), Jul 13, 2019: Cessna 172S, Katy, TX, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Aircraft took off from west houston airport climbing to the west and turning south. Climbing to 1500 feet at 150 knots the aircraft then descended and… ## Docket (12 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 31, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99830. 25.5 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 3.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10040225&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120_1%20Redacted-Rel.pdf - Accident photographs (item 2, PDF, 15 pages, 4.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10071866&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Photographs-Rel.pdf - Various records of conversations (item 3, PDF, 5 pages, 171 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10071720&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Various%20Records%20of%20Conversations%20Redacted-Rel.pdf - N517LA ADS-B raw data file (item 4, CSV, 4.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10071004&FileExtension=csv&FileName=20190712230000_N517LA_A67C6B-Rel.csv - N517LA ADS-B google earth file (item 5, KMZ, 180 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10071295&FileExtension=kmz&FileName=20190712230000_N517LA_A67C6B-Rel.kmz - N517LA opsvue raw data file (item 6, CSV, 7 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10060007&FileExtension=csv&FileName=N517LA%20OPSVUE%20CSV-Rel.csv - N517LA opsvue google earth file (item 7, KML, 106 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10059893&FileExtension=kml&FileName=N517LA%20OPSVUE%20KML-Rel.kml - Airplane rental documents and pilot's most recent flight logbook entries (item 8, PDF, 4 pages, 2.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10060016&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Airplane%20Rental%20Documents%20and%20Pilot%27s%20Most%20Recent%20Flight%20Logbook%20Entries%20Redacted-Rel.pdf - N517LA most recent maintenance records (item 9, PDF, 4 pages, 8.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10072003&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N517LA%20Most%20Recent%20Maintenance%20Records%20Redacted-Rel.pdf - NTSB airframe and engine examination report (item 10, PDF, 5 pages, 129 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10071875&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN19FA221%20Airframe%20and%20Engine%20Examination%20Report-Rel.pdf - Toxicology report (item 11, PDF, 1 page, 293 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10040992&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Toxicology%20Report%20Redacted-Rel.pdf - NTSB party member forms (item 12, PDF, 2 pages, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10043417&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Party%20Member%20Forms%20Redacted-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- 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.