Gulfstream Aerospace G-III accident near Houston, Texas, November 22, 2004
On November 22, 2004 at about 11:15 am local time, a Gulfstream Aerospace G-III, registered N85VT, was destroyed in an accident near Houston, Texas (Houston Hobby Airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight crew's failure to adequately monitor and cross check the flight instruments during the approach. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew's failure to select the instrument landing system frequency in a timely manner and to adhere to approved company approach procedures, including the stabilized approach criteria.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 22, 2004 · about 11:15 am local time
- Place
- Houston, Texas · Houston Hobby Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Gulfstream Aerospace G-III
- Registration
- N85VT · no longer on the register · serial 449
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-06/06. On November 22, 2004, about 0615 central standard time, a Gulfstream G-1159A, N85VT, operated by Business Jet Services Ltd., struck a light pole and crashed about 3 miles southwest of William P. Hobby Airport, Houston, Texas, while on an instrument landing system approach to runway 4. The two pilots and the flight attendant were killed, an individual in a vehicle near the airport received minor injuries, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The airplane was being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 15,700 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,100 hours in all; 1,700 in this make and model; 83 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 17,700 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,565.8 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 28, 2004; 28.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 70,200 lb
- Seats: 16
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce 511-8 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: The Jet Place, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: DAL Dallas TX at 11:40 am
- Destination: Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 7,602 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 090° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 0.1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 100 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 12:15 pm from KHOU, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.