# NTSB FTW98LA406: Nicks PW-5, N110WN, Waller, TX, September 23, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 23, 1998, 15:19 local (20:19 UTC) - Place: Waller, TX - Coordinates: 30.050268, -95.91983 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0503&lon=-95.9198&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report February 16, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 44010 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW98LA406 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/44010/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA406 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Dragged wing,rotor,pod,float or tail/skid, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - maneuver to avoid obstructions - performed, pilot in command - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, approach - vfr pattern - final approach ## Analysis The amateur-built experimental glider collided with terrain during the final approach to landing in a pasture. During the cross-country flight, the pilot/builder had radioed to the driver of his ground chase vehicle that he was too low to continue towards his intended destination. The pilot further radioed that he had selected a pasture and was 'landing out.' A witness, who was seated on the front porch of his house, observed the glider coming toward him. The glider made a 'sharp' left turn away from the house, the left wing tip struck the ground, and the left wing separated. The nose of the glider then impacted the ground 'hard at a fairly steep angle,' and the glider slid to a stop. The pilot had a total flight time in gliders of 1,661 hours, of which 15 hours were in the accident glider. ## Factual narrative On September 23, 1998, approximately 1519 central daylight time, an amateur-built experimental Nicks PW-5 glider, N110WN, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during final approach to landing in a pasture near Waller, Texas. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant and the owner/builder of the glider, was fatally injured. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross country flight that departed Coulter Field Airport in Bryan, Texas, at 1350. The flight's intended destination was the Soaring Club of Houston Gliderport near Waller. The driver of a ground chase vehicle following the glider on its 37-nautical mile flight reported that about 1500, the pilot radioed that he was climbing over the Navasota Municipal Airport. (The Navasota Airport is located about two thirds of the way between Coulter Field and Houston Gliderport.) Approximately 1505, the pilot radioed that he was departing Navasota and heading toward Houston Gliderport. About 10 minutes later, the pilot radioed that he was "too low to make Houston Gliderport and too far from Navasota" and that he "had a pasture in sight and was landing out." A witness, who was seated on his front porch, reported that he observed the glider coming from the north-northeast towards his house, at an altitude of "25 to 50 feet above the ground." The glider "made a sharp left turn away from the house," and its left wing tip hit the ground. The nose of the glider then impacted the ground "hard at a fairly steep angle," and the glider "slid sideways" and came to a stop. The accident site was located approximately 3 miles northwest of the Houston Gliderport. According to the FAA inspector who examined the site, the glider impacted in an open field with a "slight uphill grade" to the south. The witness's house was located at the south (top) end of the field. Wreckage was distributed along a line that extended 112 feet south from the initial ground scar. The first piece of wreckage, found 26 feet from the ground scar, was the left wing tip. This was followed, in order, by the left wing, right wing tip, canopy, fuselage with right wing attached, and horizontal stabilizer. An autopsy was performed by Paul W. Shrode, M.D., at the Joseph A. Jachimczyk Forensic Center of Harris County in Houston, Texas. Toxicological tests performed by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) detected dextromethorphan (cough syrup) and trimethoprim (antibiotic) in the pilot's urine and liver. According to Dr. Canfield of CAMI, neither of these medications should have caused impairment. According to a relative, the pilot had accumulated 3,263 total flight hours, of which 1,661 hours were in gliders. He had accumulated 15 hours flight time in N110WN. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N110WN](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N110WN-2000-11-30), registration cancelled 2000-11-30, S/N 001 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Nicks PW-5 - Registry model: [Nicks Oran W PW-5 GLIDER](https://openairdocs.org/model/nicks-oran-w-pw-5-glider) (registry code 056058Y) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Glider, amateur-built - Serial number: 001 - Airframe hours: 15 - Engines: unknown - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Oran W. Nicks - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: CFD, BRYAN, TX - Destination: 89TA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 73; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: center; toxicology performed; flight hours: 3,262 total, 15 in this make and model, 29 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 10° at 7 knots - Visibility: 9 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 93 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: CLL, 30 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19980923034519A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980923034519A), Sep 23, 1998: Amtr PW5GLIDER, Waller, TX, Substantial damage, 1 fatal. On September 23, 1998, approximatel 1530 central daylight time, an amateur-built experimental nicks PW-5 glider, N110WN, was substantially damaged shen it… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.