Cessna 172 N517LA

Summary

On 13 July 2019 at about 15:30 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N517LA, operated by West Houston Airport Corporation, was involved in an accident near Katy, 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.

Date

13 July 2019 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Katy, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.7747, -95.7219

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N517LA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2009

Engines

1

Operator

West Houston Airport Corporation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Houston

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19FA221

1 person died.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control and subsequent impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a local personal flight in day visual meteorological conditions. According to flight track data, after departure from the airport to the north, the airplane made a left turn to the southwest. The airplane continued to travel southwest over a major highway and then continued to the west. Over the final 1.5 minutes of the approximate 3-minute flight, the airplane's speed increased from about 104 kts to about 151 kts and the altitude descended from 1,050 ft to about 300 ft at the last data point. The airplane impacted a tree, parking lot, and building and the airplane was destroyed from fragmentation upon impact with terrain and the postimpact fire. A witness near the accident site thought that the airplane was going to land in an open field nearby. He stated that the airplane was "very low" and it "banked to the right" before impact. The witness reported that the engine sounded "totally revved with a high pitch" and the engine did not produce any abnormal sounds. Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Autopsy and toxicological testing of the pilot revealed no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation.   The circumstances of the accident are consistent with an inflight loss of control; however, the reason for the loss of control could not be determined based on the available information.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.