Amateur-built SPEZIO SPORT accident near Mathis, Texas, October 24, 1999
On October 24, 1999 at about 10:52 pm local time, a amateur-built SPEZIO SPORT, registered N75JS, was destroyed in an accident near Mathis, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the power lines while maneuvering.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 1999 · about 10:52 pm local time
- Place
- Mathis, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SPEZIO SPORT SPEZIO SPO
- Registration
- N75JS · no longer on the register · serial 392
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to witnesses traveling on an interstate highway, the amateur-built experimental airplane was observed flying 'very low' toward the east before turning to the south over the interstate. The airplane was observed in a 'continuous descent' and the witnesses 'thought that the airplane was attempting to land on the south-bound lanes of [the interstate].' The airplane's landing gear impacted a set of power lines running perpendicular to the interstate, veering the plane to the left. Subsequently, the airplane impacted another set of power lines and was 'flung nose down onto the north-bound lanes of [the interstate].' The witnesses stated that the airplane and an automobile collided and then slid off the road to the east. The wood and composite airplane was fragmented in several sections as it came to rest atop and adjacent to the car. A post accident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented its normal operation prior to the accident. Impact damage to the airframe destroyed the fuel system, precluding its examination.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,685 hours in all; 20 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 278 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 7, 1999; 36 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-G1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Lagarto TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 167°F (75°C), dew point 109°F (43°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:51 pm from CRP, 27 miles away
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.
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.