Cessna 170 accident near Sour Lake, Texas, May 9, 1988
On May 9, 1988 at about 2:20 am local time, a Cessna 170, registered N3853V, was destroyed in an accident near Sour Lake, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- May 9, 1988 · about 2:20 am local time
- Place
- Sour Lake, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170 · all 170s on the register
- Registration
- N3853V · registry record · serial 18740
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT STRUCK TREES AND THE GRND DURING A NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY IN MARGINAL WEATHER. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PVT PLT STATED THAT HE WAS FLYING IN CRUISE FLT AT 1250' MSL WHEN HE HIT TREES. THE CLOSEST WX STATION RECORDED 1200 OVERCAST WITH 5 MILES VISIBILITY, TEMP 74, DEW PT 70. THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS SPARSELY POPULATED AND KNOWN TO DEVELOP FOG AND RAGGED CEILINGS DURING SIMILAR CONDITIONS. THE ACDT SITE ELV WAS 15' AND THE TREES WERE 60-100' TALL. PLT RPTD THAT HIS ALTIMETER MALFUNCTIONED, HOWEVER, POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION AND TESTING DID NO REVEAL ANY FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION IN THE LOWER ALTITUDES. ALTIMETER WAS LAST CALIBRATED AND TESTED 17 YRS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE SURVIVORS WERE LOCATED ABOUT 16 HRS AFTER 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: 122 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 89 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,453 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 11, 1987; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-145 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DWH Tomball TX at 1:55 am
- Destination: BMT Beaumont TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:49 am from BPT, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.