- Date
- August 15, 2026, 16:44 local (21:44 UTC)
- Place
- Hempstead, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N984TPPipistrel Taurus Electro G2.5
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 1, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Ministry of Infrastructure Air, Maritime and Railway Accident and Incident Investigation Unit, Federal Aviation Administration, Houston FSDO, Pipistrel
- FAA report
- 20260815011429A
- Case key
- 203609
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 properly stow the motor in preparation for approach and landing that resulted in a loss of airspeed and an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and spin.
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 of the electric motor glider stated that in preparation for decent and landing to the destination airport, he selected the system enable switch to off instead of selecting the motor mast position selector to down. The motor then windmilled, which resulted in the motor and mast losing power, and the glider quickly lost airspeed. The glider then entered an aerodynamic stall and spin. The pilot stated that in an attempt to recover from the spin, he pushed down on the control stick and applied rudder, but the glider pitched up violently. While in an unusual attitude and at a low altitude, the pilot was unable to regain control and deployed the ballistic parachute. During the deployment, the parachute rocket went through the right wing, but the parachute still deployed and the glider impacted terrain in an inverted attitude. The glider sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot attributed the rapid loss of the glider’s airspeed due to the drag induced from the windmilling propeller and thought that the windmilling propeller also inhibited airflow over the vertical and horizontal stabilizer, which prevented recovery from the stall and spin. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N984TP
- Reported as
- Pipistrel Taurus Electro G2.5
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 167 T ET
- Built
- 2018
- Airframe hours
- 181.5
- Engine
- Pipstrel 40/30, 40 horsepower, electric
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- Pilot
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · February 7, 2026
- Airport
- 89TA · Soaring Club of Houston
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B, Airframe parachute
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
- 63
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 19, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 26,826 total · 150 in this make and model · 14,426 as pilot in command · 39 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 100 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- 60R, 13 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 1, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.6 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.
Other investigations on N984TP · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.