Piper 601P accident near Nacogdoches, Texas, November 9, 1990
On November 9, 1990, a Piper 601P, registered N23NS, was destroyed in an accident near Nacogdoches, Texas (A.L.Mangham,Jr Rgnl airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 5 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FOLLOW IFR PROCEDURES AND MAINTAIN THE PROPER ALTITUDE. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, DARK NIGHT, LOW FUEL STATE OF THE AIRCRAFT, AND TREES AT THE ACCIDENT SITE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 9, 1990
- Place
- Nacogdoches, Texas · A.L.Mangham,Jr Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper 601P
- Registration
- N23NS · registry record · serial 61P085481634
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT ABT 1744 CST, BFR REACHING HIS DESTN, THE PLT RPRTD THAT DURING THE FLT, HE HAD ENCTRD HEAD WINDS & HAD ONLY 50 MIN OF FUEL REMAINING. HE WAS PROVIDED PREFERENTIAL HNDLG, BUT ANOTHER FLT WAS ALSO LOW ON FUEL. THE PLT WAS CLRD FOR AN NDBRWY 15 APCH. AT 1756:49, HE ACKNOWLEDGED CLNC FOR THE APCH. AT APRX 1800, UNICOM ADZD THE CURRENT WX WAS: 700' BKN, SKY OBSCD WITH HVY RAIN, WND VARIABLE FM 090 TO 240 DEG AT 24 GSTG 29 KTS. THE PLT DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE WX, EXCEPT TO SAYIN A CALM VOICE, 'I HOPE YOU HAVE YOUR LGTS ON.' THE FBO HEARD SVRL CLICKS ON THE UNICOM (AS IF TO ACTVT THE RWY LGTS),THEN THERE WAS NO FURTHER RDO CTC WITH THE ACFT. THE ACFT HIT TREES & CRASHED ABT 6 MI WNW OF THE ARPT. WITNESSES RPRTD IT WAS AT LOW ALT & HAD REVERSED COURSE BFR CRASHING ON A SOUTHERLY HDG. THE MAIN WRECKAGE CAME TO REST ABT 380' FM THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT WITH TREES. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND. ABT 42 MI SSE AT LUFKIN, THE 1751 CST WXWAS IN PART: 200' OVC, VIS 3/4 MI WITH TSTMS, HVY RW & FOG, WND FM 020 DEG AT 12 KTS. APCH MINS: 600' CIG & 1 MI VIS.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 3,200 in this make and model; 2,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,363 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: G.T. Contractors INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 02J Cordelle GA at 9:02 pm
- Destination: OCH
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 15, 3,809 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Observation at 11:51 pm from LFK, 42 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 FTW91FA012.