Piper PA-38-112 accident near Tomball, Texas, December 3, 1988
On December 3, 1988 at about 11:10 pm local time, a Piper PA-38-112, registered N2379V, was destroyed in an accident near Tomball, Texas (David Wayne Hawks Mem. airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- December 3, 1988 · about 11:10 pm local time
- Place
- Tomball, Texas · David Wayne Hawks Mem. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-38-112 · all PA-38-112s on the register
- Registration
- N2379V · no longer on the register · serial 38-82A0060
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING USED FOR TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS BY AN INSTRUCTOR AND A LOW TIME STUDENT. IT WAS ON A BASE LEG TO LAND TO THE SOUTH WHEN THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD THE TOWER SHE HAD LOST THE ENGINE AND WAS GOING DOWN. THERE WERE NO WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. THE STUDENT SURVIVED BUT DID NOT REMEMBER THE FLIGHT. NO PROBLEMS WERE FOUND WITH THE ENGINE OR FUEL SYSTEM WHICH WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THE ENGINE FROM PRODUCING ENOUGH POWER TO PREVENT A FORCED LANDING. THE PROPELLER CAME OFF THE CRANKSHAFT AT IMPACT. MARKS ON THE SIX PROPELLER FLANGE BUSHING INDICATED THE PROPELLER HAD BEEN LOOSE FOR AN UNDETERMINED LENGTH OF TIME. THE FLANGE BUSHING HAD BEEN OVERSTRESSED AND THE FLANGED ENDS SEPARATED FROM THE BUSHINGS. THE BUSHINGS CAME OUT OF THE CRANKSHAFT AT IMPACT. THE FIELD WHERE THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST WAS SURROUNDED BY TREES.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 855 hours in all; 202 in the last 90 days; 81 in the last 30 days; 788 as pilot in command; 501 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,515 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, November 30, 1988; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Travel Air
The flight
- Departed from: DWH at 10:07 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17R, 7,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:14 pm from DWH, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.