Cessna U206F accident near Matagorda Is., Texas, August 17, 1986
On August 17, 1986 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna U206F, registered N147ED, was substantially damaged in an accident near Matagorda Is., Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 17, 1986 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Matagorda Is., Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206F · all U206Fs on the register
- Registration
- N147ED · no longer on the register · serial U20603138
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS MAKING A BEACH LANDING WHEN THE NOSE WHEEL STRUCK AN OBJECT IN THE SAND, CAUSING THE NOSE WHEEL TO COLLAPSE AND THE AIRCRAFT TO NOSE OVER INTO AN INVERTED POSITION.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,363 hours in all; 267 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days; 2,206 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,780 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 26, 1986; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Systems Plumbing, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: AXH Houston S.W. TX at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 97°F (36°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 |
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.