At 17:10 central time, a Cessna 150E and a Cessna 172N collided in cruise flight near Katy. The pilot of the 150 was killed and the two occupants of the 172 were uninjured. Both airplanes were on VFR cross-country flights without flight plans. The pilot of the 172 said the airplane was in level flight at 2,000 feet approximately 10 miles west of the West Houston Airport when she dialed in the CTAF to make a position report. She said she was scanning the area when she noticed an airplane approaching her airplane from the left side at a 90-degree angle. She stated that the airplane was flying at an altitude slightly below her airplanes altitude. She initiated a climb and right turn but the two airplanes collided. The 150 entered a spiraling descent and crashed next to an interstate highway. Following the collision, the passenger awoke and assumed control of the airplane. He recovered control at about 500 feet agl and observed that the right main landing gear had separated and sections of the outboard right wing and aileron were damaged. The passenger continued flying the airplane to the West Houston Airport and landed on runway 15. Postaccident examination found red paint transfer markings on the bottom side of the right wing. The right wing exhibited a partial separation extending from the trailing edge to the leading edge on a 45-degree angle.
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