Amateur-built GLASS GOOSE accident near Aubrey, Texas, August 2, 1996
On August 2, 1996 at about 5:36 pm local time, a amateur-built GLASS GOOSE, registered N96GG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Aubrey, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The owner/builder's design change resulting in in-flight flutter of the flaperon, which led to the fuel tank rupture and separation of the flaperon.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 2, 1996 · about 5:36 pm local time
- Place
- Aubrey, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GLASS GOOSE GLASS GOOS
- Registration
- N96GG · no longer on the register · serial 1002
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental airplane was on its fifth flight. The pilot reported that about 15 minutes into the accident flight the airplane 'experienced flutter and began loosing altitude.' A few seconds before the forced landing, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that the airplane was controllable until the loss of engine power. The airplane impacted the ground in a 'yawed' attitude and tumbled, coming to rest in an inverted position. During the final approach for the forced landing, the upper right flaperon had departed the aircraft approximately 300 yards before the impact site. According to the pilot, who was also the builder of the airplane, he believed the flutter to be the result of his 'increasing the size of the flaperons from the designer's original design without a corresponding increase in the strength of the control system elements.' Contributing to this was the fact that the flaperons had not been balanced. Postcrash examination of the airplane revealed that the in-flight flutter had caused the upper right wing's fuel tank to rupture, and fuel had been spilled down the right side of the airplane. The fuel selector at the time of the accident was on the 'Right Upper' tank.
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; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 1,093 hours in all; 473 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 1,093 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 28, 1996; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320B3B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 30F Lake Dallas TX at 5:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 99°F (37°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.