Cessna 152 N48908

Summary

On 3 April 2002 at about 00:45 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N48908 was involved in an accident near Boulder City, Nevada, United States. 2 people were 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

3 April 2002 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Boulder City, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Boulder City Municipal Airport (61B)

Coordinates

35.9472, -114.8608

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N48908

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boulder City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA123

Nobody was injured.

a loss of engine power due to an undetermined malfunction of the carburetor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane made an off airport forced landing following a loss of engine power immediately after departure. After takeoff, upon reaching 300 to 400 feet above ground level (agl), the engine experienced a rapid loss of power. The pilot maneuvered the airplane in a gliding configuration and, after determining that the airplane was unable to reach airport, opted to perform a forced landing in a dry riverbed. While in the landing flare, the airplane collided with vegetation and came to an abrupt stop after impacting a large bush. A review of the airplane's maintenance records disclosed that the engine had a history of ongoing problems with the idle mixture. In an effort to address those problems, the operator had the carburetor overhauled about a week prior the accident. The mixture discrepancy occurred again following the carburetor overhaul. After the accident, an engine examination revealed that spark plugs from the number one cylinder, as well as the top number two plug, appeared dark and sooty, with the bottom number two plug being oily. In addition, the bottom number three and four plugs were covered in lead deposits. Investigators performed an engine run, where it accelerated up to 1,600 revolutions per minute (rpm) and, despite black smoke emitting from the exhaust stack, ran smoothly; after leaning out the mixture, it accelerated up to 2,100 rpm and the exhaust cleared. A detailed examination of the carburetor revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies other than an excessively low idle fuel flow.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.