- Date
- January 27, 1985, 00:30 local (06:30 UTC)
- Place
- League City, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N82048Piper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850127001739A
- Case key
- 21661
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 acft collided with a ditch about 75 yards short of rwy 13 during a practice night forced landing. The pvt plt, an employee of the FBO operator, had taken the acft without permission and had been flying for approx 1.7 hrs when the accident occurred. The 18 yr old pilot told police officers and the operator that he was practicing forced landings, during which, he would turn off the mags and execute the forced landing, to the end of the runway. He reported that the prop stopped turning on a short final apch and the acft struck the ground short of the rwy while he was attempting to restart the eng.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82048
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8290127
- Airframe hours
- 619
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Southwest Air Center
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 26, 1984 · 110 hours before
- Departed
- SPX
- Airport
- SPX · Houston Gulf, runway 13, 5,000 × 60 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
- 18
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 98 total · 4 in this make and model · 55 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HOU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.