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FTW88LA163

1988-09-05 · HOUSTON, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 5TA4

N6208L has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BELLANCA 7GCBC, built 1973), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT TURNED TOWARD A FIELD. THE NOSE WHEEL STRUCK A LEVEE AND THE AIRPLANE FLIPPED INVERTED. DURING A POST-CRASH INSPECTION, A LARGE MUD DAUBER NEST WAS FOUND INSIDE THE AIR INDUCTION SYSTEM, JUST BEHIND THE CARBURETOR HEAT CONTROL VALVE. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH VENTED FUEL CAPS, AND THE FUEL TANK VENT LINES IN BOTH WINGS WERE OBSTRUCTED WITH A FOREIGN MATERIAL. THERE WERE NUMEROUS OTHER SMALL MUD-DAUBER NESTS INSIDE THE COWLING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_FTW88LA163.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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