Cessna 340A accident near Tomball, Texas, December 18, 1986
On December 18, 1986 at about 12:21 pm local time, a Cessna 340A, registered N8CD, was destroyed in an accident near Tomball, Texas (David Wayne Hooks Mem. airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- December 18, 1986 · about 12:21 pm local time
- Place
- Tomball, Texas · David Wayne Hooks Mem. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340A · all 340As on the register
- Registration
- N8CD · registry record · serial 340A0727
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT TOOK OFF IN FOG AND LIGHT RAIN AND CLIMBED INTO CLOUDS AT ABOUT 300-400 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND WHILE BOTH LANDING LIGHTS WERE EXTENDED AND ILLUMINATED. ALSO THE AIRPORT'S ROTATING BEACON (LOCATED AOBUT A MILE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE) WAS FLASHING ON THE CLOUDS ACCORDING TO A GROUND WITNESS. JUST AFTER ENTERING THE CLOUDS THE PILOT WAS ISSUED A LEFT TURN FROM HIS PRESENT HEADING OF 350 DEGREES TO A HEADING OF 270 DEGREES AND TOLD TO CONTACT DEPARTURE CONTROL. HE DID NOT MAKE THIS CONTACT AND HE CONTINUED THE LEFT TURN (NOW DESCENDING) TO A HEADING OF 210 DEGREES AT WHICH TIME THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES AND A LARGE ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINE AND THEN THE GROUND. THE ENGINES WERE OPERATING AT A HIGH POWER SETTING AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. ALL BROKEN FLIGHT CONTROL CABLES REVEALED EVIDENCE OF OVERSTRESS SEPARATION. NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,450 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,070 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 19, 1986; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,990 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-NB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DWH Tomball TX at 12:20 pm
- Destination: RVS Tulsa OK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:20 pm from DWH, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.