Amateur-built STAROS SA 260 accident near Marion, Texas, November 24, 1998
On November 24, 1998 at about 10:00 pm local time, a amateur-built STAROS SA 260, registered N540HC, was destroyed in an accident near Marion, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fuel leak for an undetermined reason which resulted in an in-flight fire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 24, 1998 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Marion, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built STAROS SA 260 STAROS SA
- Registration
- N540HC · no longer on the register · serial 96-01
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amateur-built airplane impacted terrain following an emergency bailout by the pilot due to an in-flight fire which erupted during an aerobatic maneuver. The pilot stated that he was executing 'a half outside loop push from inverted with a full roll followed by a snap roll in horizontal flight at the completion of the half loop' and was approaching a near vertical attitude when he was 'splashed with a very significant amount of [fuel].' A fire erupted and the pilot exited the airplane. The pilot reported that he 'suspects a fuel line separated between the main tank and the header tank.' Witnesses reported that his parachute opened at about 250-300 feet AGL. The fuel line between the main fuel tank and the header tank was destroyed by fire. The fuel filler neck was examined at the NTSB Materials Laboratory for preexisting cracks around the fuel filer neck. No preexisting cracks were found.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 980 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 980 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 188 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 15, 1998; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,638 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 54R at 9:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 pm from BAZ, 13 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.