- Date
- April 25, 1985, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Tilden, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N76LPartenavia P68C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 21733
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
After aprx 1.5 hrs of pipeline patrol flight at a planned altitude of 500 AGL the acft flew into the flat terrain in a landing attitude. The acft went through a wire fence, heavy brush and small trees before coming to rest 437 ft from initial ground contact with all 3 gear collapsed. A physical examination and the pilot's statement indicate that the pilot was operating under an extreme amount of stress which may have resulted in chronic fatigue at the time of the accident. According to the pilot, he was accustomed to a very heavy flight schedule. The chief pilot attempted to assign an additional pilot but company budget constraints prevented such an assignment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N76L
- Reported as
- Partenavia P68C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 292
- Airframe hours
- 727
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-AIB6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Transcontinental Gas Pipeline
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 15, 1985 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- CRP · Corpus Christi, TX
- Destination
- IAH · Houston, TX
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 35
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,020 total · 712 in this make and model · 5,420 as pilot in command · 237 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg