Bellanca 17-30A N8263R

Summary

On 14 July 2000 at about 02:40 local time, a Bellanca 17-30A registered N8263R was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 July 2000 at 02:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

West Houston (IWS)

Coordinates

29.7705, -95.6793

Aircraft

Bellanca 17-30A

Registration

N8263R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Conroe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW00FA208

2 people died.

the loss of engine power for an undetermined reason during maneuvering. Contributing factors were the dark night light conditions and the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the airplane, which was on a dark night cross-country flight, neared the destination airport, the pilot radioed the airport's unicom and requested an airport advisory. The pilot was advised that the active runway was 15, with left hand traffic. Approximately 3-5 minutes later, the pilot radioed, "we've lost power requesting emergency landing." The pilot of a helicopter, which was inbound for landing at the airport, stated that he heard the pilot of the accident airplane call the airport's unicom and state that he had "lost all the power." The airplane impacted trees and came to rest in a densely wooded area, approximately 1,400 feet southwest of the approach end of runway 33. The airplane was destroyed by impact damage and fire. No structural or mechanical anomalies were observed during the post accident examination of the airplane. Disassembly of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have resulted in a loss of power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.