- Date
- December 5, 1989, 17:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tomball, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8426BPiper PA-34
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891205049099A
- Case key
- 23085
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
Collapse of the nose gear for an undetermined reason.
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
This was a combination personal, business & instructional flt. The instructor plt (CFI) was in the rgt front seat & the other plt (with single/multi-eng, commercial ratings) was in the left front seat. According to one of the plts, the nose gear collapsed as the acft was on the takeoff roll. Subsequently, the acft impacted a rwy light & a taxiway indicator, crossed a taxiway & hit a ditch. When the taxiway indicator light structure was hit, the left wing was damaged & it erupted with fire. No reason was found for the nose gear to retract or collapse.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8426B
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-8133194
- Airframe hours
- 1,662
- Engine
- Continental L/TSIO-360, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John H. Ray Jr
- Registered owner
- Jadeo Financial Services
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 30, 1989 · 92 hours before
- Departed
- DWH
- Destination
- HOU · Houston, TX
- Airport
- DWH · David Wayne Hooks, runway 17, 7,000 × 100 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
- 35
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,083 total · 101 in this make and model · 1,883 as pilot in command · 126 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 55 °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.