- Date
- September 5, 1988, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6208LAmerican AA1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 24, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880905036939A
- Case key
- 22683
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
Shortly after liftoff, the engine lost power and the pilot turned toward a field. The nose wheel struck a levee and the airplane flipped inverted. During a post-crash inspection, a large mud dauber nest was found inside the air induction system, just behind the carburetor heat control valve. The airplane was not equipped with vented fuel caps, and the fuel tank vent lines in both wings were obstructed with a foreign material. There were numerous other small mud-dauber nests inside the cowling.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6208L
- Reported as
- American AA1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA1B-0008
- Airframe hours
- 1,784
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gillanders, John A.
- Registered owner
- Gillanders, John A
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 18, 1987 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- 5TA4
- Airport
- 5TA4 · Westheimer Air Park, runway 29, 2,500 × 28 ft, concrete
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,022 total · 345 in this make and model · 940 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.