Cessna 152 N48941

Summary

On 22 November 2001 at about 21:45 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N48941, operated by International Flight Center, was involved in an accident near New Braunfels, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 November 2001 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

New Braunfels, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

New Braunfels Municipal (BAZ)

Coordinates

29.7006, -98.1094

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N48941

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

International Flight Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Addison → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

NTSB number

FTW02LA042

Nobody was injured.

the loss of engine power due to carburetor icing conditions while in cruise flight. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the ensuing forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying the airplane in cruise flight at 4,500 feet, when the engine began to shake and lost partial power. The pilot elected to divert to a nearby airport and troubleshot the loss of engine power by adjusting the mixture and turning on the carburetor heat. He reported that the engine regained power; however, it lost total power shortly thereafter. The pilot did not think he would be able to make it to the airport, so he elected to land in a field. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear contacted a rut in the field, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. According to the operator, they found "plenty of fuel onboard the airplane." A mechanic, who examined the engine after the accident, reported no anomalies with the engine. At the time of the accident, the temperature was reported as 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit), and the dew point as 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit). Review of carburetor icing probability charts revealed that with the aforementioned temperature and dew point, the conditions existed for "moderate icing [at] cruise power or serious icing [at] glide power."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.