Saturday, June 27, 2015

GibboGear/Manta Trike, Unregistered: Fatal accident occurred June 27, 2015 near Dan Jones International Airport (T51), Houston, Texas

Date: 27-JUN-15
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: UNREGISTERED
Event Type: Accident
Highest Injury: Fatal
Damage: Unknown
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
FAA FSDO: FAA Houston FSDO-09
City: HOUSTON
State: Texas

UNREGISTERED HANG GLIDER CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, NEAR HOUSTON, TX




CYPRESS, Texas -- The pilot of a single-seat aircraft was killed when his ultralight crashed in a lines of trees in NW Harris County.

The victim is 52-year-old Mark Gibson from Magnolia.

Gibson took off from a runway at Dan Jones Airport Saturday morning.

It's still unclear what went wrong, but a nearby construction worker called it in when he saw the small plane veer in the air, then go down.

The sad news spread quickly around the small private airport.

"The fellow I was talking to, who was here when it happened, said he suddenly heard the sound of the engine stop and then that was the last we knew about it," said airport owner Dan Jones.

Jones says the victim was one of his first tenants 10 years ago. He called Gibson an experienced flyer, who used to make his own wings for the ultralights he flew.

"I would fly anything that he built," said Jones. "He was a good man. Looked like he was a craftsman at what he did."

The FAA is now investigating what went wrong, but they'll have limited resources.

The airport doesn't have a tower or any cameras, though there may have been one on the plane. Pilots communicate with their own radios.

But for those who knew Gibson, no explanation will take away their loss.

"It's quite upsetting, traumatic, to think that we lost one of our fellow aviators from here," said Jones. "He was part of that community, he will be missed."

Jones says it's the first time he's lost a pilot in the ten years he's owned the place.

Story, video and photo: http://www.khou.com

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