Piper PA-28-151 accident near Houston, Texas, August 20, 1999
On August 20, 1999 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-151, registered N43404, suffered minor damage in an accident near Houston, Texas (Clover Field). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to maintain clearance with the person (the airport manager) walking on the taxiway and the inadequate visual lookout by the airport manager. A factor was the airport manager's diverted attention to the aircraft accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 1999 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Houston, Texas · Clover Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-151 · all PA-28-151s on the register
- Registration
- N43404 · no longer on the register · serial 287415485
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airport manager was struck by the left wing of a taxiing airplane, while he was responding on foot to an aircraft accident on the airport. According to the flight instructor in the airplane, she was taxiing toward the accident site to provide assistance and observed the airport manager walking adjacent to the left side of the taxiway. She stated that he looked at the airplane and continued to walk, and then 'unexpectedly turned and looked at us (the airplane)' as he changed direction and moved toward the centerline of the taxiway. The flight instructor 'braked, pulled the throttle back to stop,' and turned the airplane away from the airport manager. The left wing then contacted the airport manager, and he 'slid backwards over the wing surface.' The manager reported that as he was responding to the accident site, he observed two vehicles pass him on the taxiway and also observed a helicopter land at the accident site. He does not recall seeing, hearing, or contacting the airplane.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 907 hours in all; 325 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 714 as pilot in command; 174 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,096 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1999; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,325 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-ED3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LVJ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from HOU, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.