This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N269WT
- History of Flight:
September 28, 2025, at about 1212 local time, a Cessna 340, N269WT, registered to a private individual out of South Jordan, Utah, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH/KDWH), Houston, Texas. The two occupants onboard sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated from DWH, and was reportedly destined to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (LBB/KLBB), Lubbock, Texas. Daytime visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.According to preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data (figure 1), at 1208:09, the airplane was seen after departure from runway 35L when it entered a climbing right turn to 300 ft. At 1210:23, the airplane climbed to about 800 ft, and started a right turn back towards runway 35L. At 1211:01, the airplane was at 800 ft, 93 knots groundspeed, and descending -320 feet per minute (fpm) when it conducted a base-to-final turn towards the runway. At 1211:58, the airplane was at 300 ft, 78 knots groundspeed, and descending -900 fpm about 0.85 miles from the runway. The last ADS-B return was recorded at 1212:22, the airplane was at 200 ft, 75 knots groundspeed, and descending -500 fpm about 0.35 mile from the runway.
The airplane impacted open terrain about 0.13 mile from the runway threshold. A post crash fire ensued and consumed the aircraft (figure 2).
Figure 1: ADS-B data ran through Flysto
Figure 2: Final Wreckage Location
- Pilot Information:
unknown at the moment.
The registered owner (unknown if it was accident pilot) holds an airline transport pilot certificate (issued/updated 1/3/2018) with a rating for airplane multi-engine land, he also holds commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land. He also holds an advanced/instrument ground instructor certificate that was issued/updated on 12/4/2005. His second class FAA medical was issued on June 2025.
This individual held type ratings in the Boeing 737, Gulfstream 200, and Learjet.
- Airplane Information:
The airplane, serial number 340-0104, was a pressurized twin-engine, low-wing, all-metal airplane, featuring retractable tricycle landing gear. It was manufactured in 1972. It was powered by two Continental TSIO-520-NB engines, driving two Hartzell 3-blade, all-metal, constant speed propellers.
- Wreckage and Impact Information:
none
- Airport Information:
David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport is a controlled (has a control tower) public airport located about 17 miles northwest of Houston, Texas. The airport field elevation was 152.4 ft. The airport features two asphalt runways, runway 17R/35L (7009 x 100 ft) and runway 17L/35R (3500 x 35 ft). The airport also features multiple helipads and a water runway.
- Weather:
The reported weather at KDWH, at 1153 (about 21 minutes before the accident) included: variable wind at 4 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, no clouds under 12,000 ft (CLR), a temperature of 29.4° C, a dew point of 14.4° C, and a barometric altimeter setting of 30.07 inches of mercury. The calculated density altitude was 1749 ft.
The reported weather at KDWH, at 1253 (about 31 minutes after the accident) included: variable wind at 6 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, no clouds under 12,000 ft (CLR), a temperature of 30° C, a dew point of 14.4° C, and a barometric altimeter setting of 30.05 inches of mercury. The calculated density altitude was 1840 ft.
METAR KDWH 281653Z VRB04KT 10SM CLR 29/14 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP179 T02940144
METAR KDWH 281753Z VRB06KT 10SM CLR 30/15 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP173 T03000150 10300 20144 58007
The sun’s position at the time of the accident was about 55° over the horizon on an azimuth of 153° SSE, and the the Moon was 15 degrees under the horizon on an azimuth of 115° ESE. The official Meridian occurred at 1311 LT.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
600 AM CDT Sun Sep 28 2025
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Issued at 1208 AM CDT Sun Sep 28 2025
- Continue to use caution when working with open flame or
equipment that can cause sparks as dry conditions persist across
the area.
- Hot, dry, and mostly sunny conditions carry us into the new
week. A brief upper disturbance looks to increase clouds Monday
night and Tuesday, but a sunnier sky will return after it
departs.
- Rain chances will be virtually nil until late this week when
moisture deepens enough to allow for some isolated seabreeze
showers/storms.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1208 AM CDT Sun Sep 28 2025
Five days in, and I gotta admit, I am starting to struggle to find
ways to say that the weather will continue to be fair for several
days, with near to above average highs, low humidity, and a good
bit of sun for most all of the next several days. So...yeah, you
can stick with that and move on if you want, but I`ll try to find
a couple nuances if you want to read on.
In the short term, the story of today will be the continued lack
of humidity across the area. Like Friday, Saturday featured
minimum RH in the 30s for all but those right on the Gulf, and
there were decently large swaths that saw RH fall into the upper
half of the 20s, especially out west of the Brazos. Today,
probably a lot more of the same. Nearly all of us will start out
in the 60s (maybe even a handful in the upper 50s way up north)
and warm up to around 90 degrees while RH again falls into the 30s
and upper 20s in the dry spots.
So far, winds have been in that band where they are just barely
strong enough to keep the seabreeze at bay (at Gulf?) but not
strong enough to cause concerns about fire spread. Today, we may
see them slacken even a touch more. Not enough to markedly change
things, but enough that the immediate coast may not be quite as
dry. By that, I mean RH around or a little above 40 percent rather
than in the 30s. So even in our "most humid" spots on the water,
it will still be fairly dry. The HREF probabilities for sub-40
percent RH is around or higher than 50 percent right up to the
immediate coast, while that signal disappears for the row of
counties right on the Gulf if you step down to 30 percent RH. I
wouldn`t necessarily take those numbers literally as even high res
guidance seems to struggle with afternoon mixing and RH (at least
it`s better than the NBM?) but it probably hits the qualitative
trend pretty well.
The deeper we go into the week, the more we should see the diurnal
seabreeze cycle try to assert itself. We`re still not looking at a
real big push here - synoptic flow will not be super supportive of
a meaningful seabreeze penetration, and this time of year does not
feature the strongest temperature differential between land and
Gulf that drives the circulation. But, we should see at least a
little moisture start to filter its way in bit by bit through the
week. Still not humid, but I`d expect to be a little less dry each
day. By the end of the week, things should moisten up enough that
potential for an isolated seabreeze shower/storm comes back into
the forecast near the coast!
We may also get a little bit of a top-down boost Monday night and
Tuesday as an upper disturbance rolls through the region. We won`t
be anywhere close to being able to generate rain at this point.
But, we should see a brief increase in cloudiness through this
stretch and may see some moisture from above work its way down,
assisting the incremental erasure of the dry conditions a little
bit.
&&
.AVIATION...
(12Z TAF Issuance)
Issued at 600 AM CDT Sun Sep 28 2025
VFR conditions will prevail throughout the TAF period with light
and variable winds early this morning becoming northeasterly in
the mid-morning with wind speeds remaining less than 10 kt. Closer
to the coast, winds will transition to easterly in the afternoon
before becoming light and variable shortly after sunset.
- Additional Information:
no
