- Date
- December 9, 1990, 10:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Boerne, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N61080Taylorcraft DC-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901209053249A
- Case key
- 23296
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 inability to climb over obstacles due to encountering a downdraft which exceeded the climb capability of the airplane. Factors in the accident were the gusty wind conditions and the downdraft.
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 from runway 22, the pilot entered a climbing left turn and encountered gusty winds and a downdraft as he cleared the trees that surrounded the sod strip. He was unable to recover from the descent prior to the airplane's landing gear striking trees. Shortly thereafter, it collided with a fence and the ground. Local winds were reported to be from 220 degrees at 15 gusting to 20 knots. The strip was surrounded by trees and low hills.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61080
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft DC-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6238
- Engine
- Continental A65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Anderson, Wallace G.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 24, 1990 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
- Destination
- HDO · Hondo, TX
- Airport
- NONE · Grier, runway 22, 1,500 × 300 ft, grass/turf
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
- 72
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 26,556 total · 90 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 15 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAT, 25 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.