- Date
- June 20, 1990, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fabens, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA reports
- 19900620021572A19900620021571A
- Case key
- 23141
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
Inadequate visual lookout by the pilots of both aircraft, which resulted in a failure of each pilot to see-and-avoid the other aircraft. A factor related to the accident was: failure of the ryan ST-3KR pilot to make traffic advizories while entering the traffic pattern and approaching to land.
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
Four acft depd carlsbad, NM, on a flt to Fabens, TX. The 1st of the 4 acft to enter the tfc pattern at Fabens was Cessna 140, N76728. It entered the pattern behind a high wing Cessna (border patrol acft) that landed on rwy 26. However, since the wind favored rwy 8, the 140 plt 'passed over 26,' entered a downwind for rwy 8 & announced his intentions on the UNICOM freq. When the border patrol acft clrd rwy 26, the 140 plt contd his apch to lnd on rwy 8. He assumed the plts of the other 3 acft of the flt would follow him. The 2nd acft of the flt was a ryan ST-3KR, N48743. The ryan plt saw the high wing Cessna (border patrol acft) clr rwy 26 & elected to land on that rwy. Subsequently, the Cessna 140 & ryan ST-3KR converged while landing from opposite directions. The Cessna 140 plt saw the ryan ST-3KR just before impact, but not in time to avoid a collision.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N76728
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 11160
- Airframe hours
- 1,909
- Engine
- Continental 85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Don S. Singleton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 1, 1990 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- CNM · Carlsbad, NM
- Destination
- E35
- Airport
- E35 · Fabens, runway 8, 4,200 × 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.
- Registration
- N48743
- Reported as
- Ryan ST-3KR
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1287
- Engine
- Kinner R55, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Norman D. Justice
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 3, 1989
- Departed
- CNM · Carlsbad, NM
- Destination
- E35
- Airport
- E35 · Fabens, runway 26, 4,200 × 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N76728
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total · 500 in this make and model · 500 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N48743
- Age
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 659 total · 480 in this make and model · 601 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 2
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.