Amateur-built GLASAIR I accident near Albany, Texas, June 20, 1999
On June 20, 1999 at about 2:50 am local time, a amateur-built GLASAIR I, registered N233TK, was destroyed in an accident near Albany, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent stall while performing an evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with powerlines. Factors were the night light condition and the pilot's decision to fly at low altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 1999 · about 2:50 am local time
- Place
- Albany, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GLASAIR I
- Registration
- N233TK · no longer on the register · serial 233K
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 4,600-hour private pilot was making a night cross country flight. Witnesses in a vehicle driving northeast bound observed the green navigation light and landing light of the airplane. The airplane was flying parallel to the highway heading northeast, at an estimated altitude of approximately 50 feet agl. The witnesses continued to observe the lights of the airplane after it passed their vehicle, at a distance of about 100 yards off the left side of the road. The witnesses reported that they observed the airplane 'abruptly initiate a near vertical climb' and subsequently observed the lights of the airplane descending toward the ground as if the airplane was 'corkscrewing.' The wreckage of the airplane came to rest 30-feet from the base of a power line that crossed the airplane's flight path. There was no evidence found indicating that the airplane had contacted the power line. No anomalies were found with the engine or airframe that could have prevented normal flight operations. Toxicology was positive for fluoxetine (an anti-depressant).
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
- Flight time: 4,600 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 4,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,037 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 3, 1998; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SEP Stephenville TX at 2:20 am
- Destination: F82 Lubbock TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from ABI, 20 miles away
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.