Keen GLASAIR I N233TK

Summary

On 20 June 1999 at about 02:50 local time, a Keen GLASAIR I registered N233TK was involved in an accident near Albany, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 June 1999 at 02:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Albany, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.7202, -99.2895

Aircraft

Keen GLASAIR I

Registration

N233TK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stephenville → Lubbock

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW99FA172

1 person died.

The pilot's inadvertent stall while performing an evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with powerlines. Factors were the night light condition and the pilot's decision to fly at low altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 4,600-hour private pilot was making a night cross country flight. Witnesses in a vehicle driving northeast bound observed the green navigation light and landing light of the airplane. The airplane was flying parallel to the highway heading northeast, at an estimated altitude of approximately 50 feet agl. The witnesses continued to observe the lights of the airplane after it passed their vehicle, at a distance of about 100 yards off the left side of the road. The witnesses reported that they observed the airplane 'abruptly initiate a near vertical climb' and subsequently observed the lights of the airplane descending toward the ground as if the airplane was 'corkscrewing.' The wreckage of the airplane came to rest 30-feet from the base of a power line that crossed the airplane's flight path. There was no evidence found indicating that the airplane had contacted the power line. No anomalies were found with the engine or airframe that could have prevented normal flight operations. Toxicology was positive for fluoxetine (an anti-depressant).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.