Piper PA-38-112 accident near Jacksonville, Texas, May 5, 1990
On May 5, 1990, a Piper PA-38-112, registered N2468G, was destroyed in an accident near Jacksonville, Texas (Jacksonville Cherokee Cty 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A FUEL EXHAUSTION INDUCED POWER LOSS DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 5, 1990
- Place
- Jacksonville, Texas · Jacksonville Cherokee Cty · 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
- N2468G · registry record · serial 38-79A0538
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF, AT APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET ABOVE THE TREES, A FUEL EXHAUSTION INDUCED TOTAL POWER LOSS WAS EXPERIENCED WITH THE STUDENT PILOT AT THE CONTROLS. THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI) TOOK CONTROL AND ATTEMPTED TO TURN 180 DEGREES TO RETURN TO THE DOWNWIND DEPARTURE RUNWAY FOR A FORCED LANDING (THE REPORTED WINDS WERE 310 DEGREES AT 11 KNOTS). THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE TREES AND MADE AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT TO UPSLOPING GROUND. RECORDS INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT HAD NOT BEEN REFUELED, AND HAD FLOWN 3.5 HOURS SINCE THE PREVIOUS FUELING. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SPILLAGE FROM THE RUPTURED RIGHT TANK; EIGHT OUNCES OF FUEL WAS RECOVERED FROM THE INTACT LEFT TANK WHICH WAS SELECTED.
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: 1,400 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 1,400 as pilot in command; 840 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,422 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 28, 1990; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Center Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: JSO
- Destination: JSO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N2468G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW90FA106.