- Date
- April 2, 2000, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Brownfield, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9055TCessna 182C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000402006249A
- Case key
- 51131
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 inadvertently stalling the airplane. A factor was the pilot's diverted attention toward people on the ground.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was flying over a suspected oil leak in a pipeline. Witnesses stated that the airplane was circling low (approximately 500 feet agl) over the suspected oil leak. According to the witnesses, the pilot was attempting to get their attention. They observed the airplane in a '60-90 degree bank to the left.' The witnesses stated that the airplane lost altitude while in the turn until it 'flew into the ground,' impacting on the left wing and cartwheeling. The pilot told the FAA inspector that he could not remember the event. The FAA inspector stated that the pilot's attention was diverted to the witnesses, and that the pilot 'had stalled or was about to stall the aircraft in this high bank angle.'
Factual narrative
On April 2, 2000, approximately 1200 central standard time, a Cessna 182C airplane, N9055T, was substantially damaged during impact with terrain while maneuvering near Brownfield, Texas. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, received minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by American Patrols Inc., of Midland, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 aerial observation flight. The pipeline inspection flight departed Snyder, Texas, at 1045.
Witness interviews, conducted by the FAA inspector, who visited the accident site, revealed that the airplane was circling low (approximately 500 feet agl) over a suspected oil leak in a pipeline. The witnesses stated that the airplane was in a "60-90 degree bank to the left," and the pilot was attempting to get their attention. The witnesses further stated that the airplane lost altitude while in the turn until it "flew into the ground," impacting on the left wing and cartwheeling.
The pilot told the FAA inspector that he could not remember the event. The FAA inspector stated that he concluded that the pilot's attention was diverted to the witnesses, and that the pilot "had stalled or was about to stall the aircraft in this high bank angle." According to the FAA inspector, the airplane's left wing was torn from the fuselage and the fuselage sustained structural damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9055T
- Reported as
- Cessna 182C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 52955
- Airframe hours
- 1,951
- Engine
- Continental O-470-L, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- American Patrols, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 3, 2000 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- SNK · Snyder, 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
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 968 total · 81 in this make and model · 891 as pilot in command · 190 in the last 90 days · 53 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 10 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,600 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LBB, 15 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.