- Date
- December 25, 1989, 17:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Hereford, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N260LPSenior Aerosport/Paet PJ 260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891225052899A
- Case key
- 22963
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 adequate obstacle clearance on the approach to landing. A factor was the power pole just short of the end of the runway.
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 aircraft was approaching to land at a private airstrip that had power poles along the approach path. The pilot reported that he had misjudged the obstacle clearance and thought he had passed the last of the poles when he initiated a descent to the runway. The aircraft struck a 30 foot power pole located just prior to the runway. The airplane then descended in an estimated 60 degree nose down attitude to terrain impact.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N260LP
- Reported as
- Senior Aerosport/Paet PJ 260
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 30
- Airframe hours
- 50
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-S, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Paetzold, Lawrence E.
- Registered owner
- Larry Paetzold
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 8, 1989 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE · Paetzold, runway 35, 3,000 × 40 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
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 55 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AMA, 40 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.