General Motors FM-2 N681S
18 October 2003 · Houston, Texas, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 18 October 2003 at about 23:17 local time, a General Motors FM-2 registered N681S, operated by Commemorative Air Force, was involved in an accident near Houston, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 23:17
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Houston, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- Ellington Field Airport (EFD)
- Coordinates
- 29.6122, -95.1647
- Aircraft
- General Motors FM-2
- Registration
- N681S
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Commemorative Air Force
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Air Race/Show
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Houston → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW04LA010
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin while maneuvering to land.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
While maneuvering to land, the pilot inadvertently stalled and impacted the terrain. The pilot had been instructed by air traffic control to increase the separation between it and the airplane it was following. Several witnesses stated the airplane did a series of 360-degree steep turns. During a right turn, the airplane pitched nose up, the wings "wobbled", the airplane descend and entered a partial spin. One witness stated it appeared the airplane, approximately 50 feet agl, attempted to level off; however, then it impacted the terrain in a nose down attitude. Another witness stated the propeller was turning and did not notice any problems with the airplane or engine. The witnesses did not observe any smoke or fire from the airplane prior to the impact.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May 2003 | Piper PA-18A-150 | Roanoke, Texas, United States | Marcair | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 Aug 2003 | Robinson R22 BETA | Ozona, Texas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 18 Nov 2003 | Cessna 550 | Mineral Wells, Texas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 Jun 2003 | Robinson R22 BETA | Houston, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 26 Apr 2003 | Boeing A75N1 | Houston, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Jun 2003 | Apex CAP 10B | Gladewater, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |