Amateur-built Glasair accident near Conroe, Texas, December 28, 2002
On December 28, 2002 at about 7:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Glasair, registered N3885J, was destroyed in an accident near Conroe, 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 airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall and a subsequent loss of control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 28, 2002 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Conroe, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Glasair
- Registration
- N3885J · no longer on the register · serial 200
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Witnesses near the accident site reported that the airplane collided with a light pole in a residential backyard after the airplane "spun nose down into the ground." The FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported that the amateur-built airplane, which was mostly built out of fiberglass and composite materials, "was totally consumed by the post-impact fire." The inspector added that all of the major aircraft components were located within a 20-foot radius from the initial point of impact. At the time of his last medical examination on April 20, 2001, the pilot had accumulated a total of 1,230 hours. No discrepancies were found with the airframe or the engine that could have prevented normal flight operations.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,230 hours in all; 500 in this make and model
- Last flight review: March 10, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: condition inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: CXO Conroe TX at 7:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from KCXO, 12 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.