Amateur-built BABY GREAT LAKES accident near Angleton, Texas, April 19, 1988
On April 19, 1988, a amateur-built BABY GREAT LAKES, registered N6915, was destroyed in an accident near Angleton, Texas (Bailes airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- April 19, 1988
- Place
- Angleton, Texas · Bailes · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BABY GREAT LAKES BABY GREAT
- Registration
- N6915 · registry record · serial WE 101
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO ENTER A RT BANK AND THEN A LEFT BANK TO A COURSE PARALLEL TO THE T/O RWY. IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY OBSERVED TO ENTER A LEFT TURN WHICH STEEPENED AND THE ACFT NOSED OVER UNTIL GROUND IMPACT. ORIGINAL TURN WAS EXECUTED AT ABOUT 150' AGL. ACFT STRUCK THE GROUND IN A NOSE LOW, LEFT WING DOWN ATTITUDE. NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. NOR WAS THERE ANY EVIDENCE OF PLT INCAPACITATION FOUND DURING THE SUBSEQUENT AUTOPSY AND TOXICOLOGY STUDIES.
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: 1,290 hours in all; 16 in this make and model; 1,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 175 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 6, 1987; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 850 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-65 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7R9 at 11:58 pm
- Destination: 93X5 Lake Jackson TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,855 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from GLS, 29 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.