Luscombe 8 N2238K

Summary

On 10 December 2020 at about 18:30 local time, a Luscombe 8 registered N2238K was involved in an accident near Manvel, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 December 2020 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Manvel, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.4875, -95.3147

Aircraft

Luscombe 8

Registration

N2238K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Manvel → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA085

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from power lines during his attempted landing and his loss of situational awareness that led to him to misidentify a pipeline field for the landing airpark.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that he saw the airplane takeoff from the airpark and fly a left traffic pattern. The airplane disappeared behind a tree line after lining up on a pipeline easement northeast of the airport. The witness then reported a bright flash from a power line, and he responded to the accident scene. He observed the airplane resting inverted in the field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the forward fuselage. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site. The inspector reported that the airplane struck a set of power lines and crashed in a pipeline field about seven-tenths of a mile from the airpark. The owner of the property adjacent to the field told the inspector that he witnessed the airplane hit the power lines and that the airplane appeared to be attempting to land in the field. The witness reported that since the accident he has spoken with the pilot on multiple occasions and the pilot has no memory of the crash or the events leading to the accident. However, in his statement to the FAA inspector, the witness reported the pilot telling him several times that he was on final approach to the runway when he hit the power lines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.