Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL accident near Houston, Texas, October 5, 2021
On October 5, 2021 at about 3:30 pm local time, a 1950 Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL, registered N7117K, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Houston, Texas (West Houston airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper application of brakes during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 5, 2021 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Houston, Texas · West Houston · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL, built 1950 · all PA-18-105 SPECIALs on the register
- Registration
- N7117K · registry record · serial 18-340
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction departed on a local flight to perform touch-and-go landings. On the fifth landing, the pilot receiving instruction applied brakes to stop the airplane. The flight instructor reported that the pilot applied too much brake pressure; the nose of the airplane was lower than normal. He directed the pilot to release brake pressure, but the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. Substantial damage was sustained to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and right wing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Student/instructed pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,663 hours in all; 47.3 in this make and model; 795.6 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,810 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KDWH Houston TX
- Runway 15, 1,200 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from KDWH, 16 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KDWH 051553Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 27/17 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP170 T02720172=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN22LA005.