Piper PA-18-150 accident near Gail, Texas, January 30, 2006
On January 30, 2006 at about 3:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N744, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gail, Texas (Avenger Field Airport). It was a public-use 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 30, 2006 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Gail, Texas · Avenger Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N744 · registry record · serial 18-8309009
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The single-engine tailwheel-equipped airplane was performing a predator control flight while on a public use mission for a government agency. The 5,843-hour commercial pilot reported that the flight profile of the flight required operation at low altitude. The pilot reported that about an hour and fifty minutes into the flight, the airplane settled into a mesquite tree thicket while maneuvering. The pilot was able to add full power, arrest the descent, and eventually fly out of the thicket. The pilot found an open pasture about 1/2 mile from the location of the mishap, and landed to survey the damage to the airplane. The pilot found structural damage had occurred to the tail section of the airplane.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 5,843 hours in all; 5,732 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 67 in the last 30 days; 5,653 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,679 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SWW Sweetwater TX at 1:30 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 250 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 am from LBB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N744 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.