CEN25LA182

NTSB accident investigation · Beech F33A · Houston, TX · May 16, 2025

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
May 16, 2025, 14:59 local (19:59 UTC)
Place
Houston, TX · field
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N6376SBeech F33A
Defining event
Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
FAA Flight Standards
FAA report
20250516007739A
Case key
200176

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On May 16, 2025, about 1459 central daylight time, a Beech F33A airplane, N6376S, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that the engine seemed to perform normally during takeoff. However, shortly afterward, the engine speed dropped abruptly from about 2,780 rpm to less than 2,000 rpm. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude, and he executed a forced landing to a wooded area southeast of the airport. The airplane came to rest upright about 0.50-mile southeast of the departure end of the runway. After exiting the airplane, the pilot noticed a small fire near the outboard portion of the left wing. Unfortunately, the fire spread and consumed most of the airframe before it could be extinguished. The extent of the post-impact fire damage will preclude an examination of the airframe fuel system. An engine examination is planned once the airplane has been recovered from the accident site.

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.

Aircraft

Registration
N6376S
Reported as
Beech F33A
Category
Airplane
Serial number
CE-619
Built
1975
Damage
Destroyed
Fire
On-Ground
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Departed
IWS · Houston, TX
Destination
IWS · Houston, TX
Airport
IWS · West Houston, runway 15, 3,953 × 75 ft, asphalt

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.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
170° at 14 knots, gusting 20
Visibility
9 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
4,600 ft broken
Temperature
90 °F, dew point 73 °F
Altimeter
29.83 inHg
Observed at
KSGR, 12 nm away
METAR
KSGR 161953Z 17014G20KT 9SM FEW036 BKN046 32/23 A2983

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N6376S · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.