- Date
- April 26, 2003, 13:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N55133Boeing A75N1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20030426036859A
- Case key
- 56934
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 maintain directional control while landing.
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
During landing, the "main wheels touched down as normal." As the tail of the airplane started to come down, the airplane "encountered a wind shift/gust that raised the left wing." Subsequently, the aircraft veered to the right and exited the runway. The lower left wing struck the ground, and the left rear section of the fuselage struck the runway Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) lighting system.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 2003, at 1310 central daylight time, a Boeing A75N1 tailwheel-equipped airplane, N55133, owned and operated by Classic Planes Inc. of Spring, Texas, sustained substantial damage when it ground looped while landing on runway 17 at the SugarLand Regional Airport, Houston, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight departed David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), near Tomball, Texas, at 0900.
The 17,500-hour pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that during landing, the "main wheels touched down as normal." As the tail of the aircraft settled onto the runway, it "encountered a wind shift/gust that raised the left wing." Subsequently, the aircraft veered to the right and exited the runway. The lower left wing struck the ground, and the left rear section of the fuselage struck the runway Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) lighting system.
Examination of the aircraft by an FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, revealed the outboard 3 feet of the lower left wing was bent upward approximately 45 degrees. The left side of the fuselage, aft of the left wing and left horizontal stabilizer, was punctured.
Runway 17 is 8,000-feet long and 100-feet wide. At the time of the accident, the winds were reported as variable at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55133
- Reported as
- Boeing A75N1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 867
- Airframe hours
- 7,000
- Engine
- Continental W670-6N, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Classic Planes Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 1, 2002 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- DWH · Houston, TX
- Destination
- SGR · Houston, TX
- Airport
- SGR · Sugar Land Muni/Hull Field, runway 17, 8,000 × 100 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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- February 14, 2003
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 17,500 total · 150 in this make and model · 15,700 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 85 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
- Observed at
- SGR
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 N55133 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.