Cassutt IIIM accident near Pearland, Texas, September 2, 2004
On September 2, 2004, a Cassutt IIIM, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N3TW, was destroyed in an accident near Pearland, Texas (Pearland Regional Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed sufficient for flight resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin while turning from the base leg of the traffic pattern to final. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience for the make/model airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2004
- Place
- Pearland, Texas · Pearland Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cassutt IIIM, amateur-built · all IIIMs on the register
- Registration
- N3TW · registry record · serial 088
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 246.6-hour pilot was conducting a series of touch-and-go landings in an amateur-built race airplane. While the airplane was turning from base leg to final within the airport traffic pattern, a witness observed the airplane "descending rapidly in a nose down" attitude through approximately 500 feet agl. The witness stated that the airplane "fell straight down in a spin" until it impacted terrain. Another witness located at the airport reported seeing the airplane turn left base at a bank angle of approximately 90 degrees. Examination of the engine and airframe were conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration and no anomalies were noted. Review of the pilot's logbooks revealed he had accumulated approximately 2 hours in the accident make/model airplane. The former owner of the accident airplane reported that the pilot had recently purchased the airplane approximately six months prior to 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 241 hours in all; 2 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 280.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 18, 2003
- Maximum gross weight: 850 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LVJ Pearland TX at 12:00 pm
- Destination: LVJ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32L, 4,302 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.03 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 FTW04LA226.