FTW89FA012

1988-11-02 · HOUSTON, Texas, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IAH

Aircraft involved

N60819 Piper 601B Fatal

Probable cause & findings

PILOT'S DECISION TO FLY THE APPROACH VISUALLY WITH OUTSIDE REFERENCE TO THE LIGHTS AND INADVERTENTLY DESCENDING BELOW THE DECISION HEIGHT OFF THE PROPER GLIDE PATH.

Factual narrative

THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES AND TREES WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH. THE REPORTED WEATHER IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT WAS AN INDEFINITE CEILING ZERO, SKY OBSCURED, AND VISIBILITY 1/16 OF A MILE IN FOG. NO PREIMPACT FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE FOUND. THE PILOT HAD DIVERTED FROM HIS INTENDED DESTINATION DUE TO FOG. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_FTW89FA012.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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