- Date
- July 15, 1982, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Port O'Connor, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3123WBeech A36
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 15, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820715029039A
- Case key
- 72292
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 decided to land at an airstrip that he had landed at about 3 years previously. Before landing, he made a 500 ft pass over the strip. He reported that the sun and glare were bright. He saw white spots on the strip, but thought they were filled-in areas. The spots were actually truck loads of sand about 3 to 4 ft high. As the aircraft was flared during the landing, the right main gear struck one of the mounds. The pilot initiated a go-around, but aborted it when the nose gear hit another mound and sheared. An investigation revealed that the airport had been closed and its listing had been removed from the Texas airport directory and the aopa airport directory. Also, it was no longer depicted on the houston aeronautical chart.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3123W
- Reported as
- Beech A36
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- E-500
- Airframe hours
- 1,360
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-BA, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lyon Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Lyon Flying Service
- Departed
- Welsh, LA
- Destination
- 55S · Packwood, WA
- Airport
- Closed Airport, runway 24, 2,400 × 30 ft, dirt
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
- 39
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 9,950 as pilot in command · 110 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 196 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.