NTSB Identification: CEN14LA094
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, December 28, 2013 in Gladewater, TX
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/24/2014
Aircraft: CESSNA 150L, registration: N6905G
Injuries: 2 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot reported that he was returning to the airport after a short practice flight and that, as the airplane neared the airport, the engine started to lose power, and the rpm decreased. The pilot performed the restart checklist, but the engine did not respond. The pilot then chose to conduct a forced landing in a nearby clearing. Examination of the airplane revealed that fuel was available and that the fuel was clear of debris and contaminants. A test run of the engine was performed, and no abnormalities were noted. Atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the serious risk of carburetor ice accumulation at a glide power setting. It is likely that the engine lost power due to carburetor icing because it was operating at a reduced power setting for the approach to the airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.
On December 28, 2013, about 1215 central standard time, a Cessna 150L airplane, N6905G, impacted terrain following a loss of engine power near Gladewater, Texas. The commercial rated pilot and passenger were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan.
The pilot reported that he departed for a practice flight which included slow flight, stalls, and steep turns. As he returned to the airport, the engine rpm started to decrease. He reported that he performed the restart checklist, but was unable to restore power. The pilot added that he was too low to make it to the airport, and selected a clearing for the forced landing.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the airplane impacted trees and terrain, near a pipeline right-of-way. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's left and right wings. A visual inspection of the engine did not reveal a reason for the loss of power. Additionally, a fuel smell was present on site and an estimated 20 gallons of fuel was available in the airplane's fuel tanks.
The airplane was retrieved by the owner, who examined the airplane's engine. The owner reported that all the connections; fuel line, throttle, mixture, and carburetor heat all were in place. The air filter was free from obstructions, the gascolator and screen were clear of any debris or contaminates. The owner was able to start and run the engine; the owner also added that the airplane ran on automobile gas (mogas).
The carburetor icing probability chart included in Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin No. CE-09-35, Carburetor Icing Prevention, indicated that the airplane was operating in an area that was associated with a serious risk of carburetor ice accumulation at glide power settings.
In December 2013, the NTSB issued Safety Alert (SA-029) "Engine power loss due to Carburetor Icing". The Safety Alert states that "engines that run on automobile gas may be more susceptible to carburetor icing than engines that run on Avgas".
NTSB Identification: CEN14LA094
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, December 28, 2013 in Gladewater, TX
Aircraft: CESSNA 150L, registration: N6905G
Injuries: 2 Minor.
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. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On December 28, 2013, about 1330 central daylight time, a Cessna 150 L/M airplane, N6905G, impacted terrain after experiencing a loss of engine power near Gladewater, Texas. The commercial rated pilot and passenger received minor injuries and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan.
The pilot reported to the responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector, that he departed earlier and had flown for about thirty minutes. As he approached the airport, the engine rpm started to decrease. He was unable to restore power and was too low to make it to the airport. The airplane impacted trees and terrain, near a pipeline right-of-way. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's left and right wings. A visual inspection of the engine did not reveal a reason for the loss of power. Additionally, a fuel smell was present on site and fuel was available in the airplane's fuel tanks.
UPSHUR COUNTY, TX (KLTV) -
The Federal Aviation Administration has ruled the Saturday afternoon plane crash in Gladewater as mechanical failure.
Jon McClandon, the plane's owner, was not flying the plane at the time of the crash, and tells us the pilot did everything right in the circumstance.
Trees had to be cut down to move the single-engine plane back to the Gladewater Airport.
Jon McClandon has several planes there and was flying at the time of the crash, but in a different plane 125 miles away. He says his heart sank when he heard the incident over his radio. All he could do was hope for the best.
"He did real well. You have an engine out and you have to fly it all the way to the ground. You can either stall it or fly it into the trees and hope for the best. He did a really good job. You can't complain about that. I'm glad everybody is all right," Jon said.
Pilot John Barryhill kept the 1971 Cessna 150's wings level and didn't turn. Jon McClandon explained the plane glides farther if the pilot doesn't turn or pull up. He says he would have flown it the same way if he lost power.
Jon added, "You can fly it the best you can and you have to keep the airspeed up a certain amount of speed to keep it in the air and that's the air and that's the only thing you can do. Once you turn you lose your airspeed so once your wings are level and you get pointed into a direction you don't have much alternative."
McClandon says if Barryhill would have cleared the trees he probably would have made the airport. The pilot walked away from the crash and his teenage passenger had a few stitches in his ear and was released from the hospital.
"He's a good example of a great pilot," McClandon added.
John Barryhill has been flying for four years. The FAA says they found no evidence of pilot error.
http://www.kltv.com
http://www.news-journal.com
http://www.kltv.com/two-hospitalized-after-etx-plane-crash
KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News
http://www.asias.faa.gov/N6905G
http://registry.faa.gov/N6905G
KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News
DPS Troopers Brant Smith and Bobby Dean look over the scene where a
plane crashed Saturday. The pilot and passenger walked away from the
plane, which crashed in a clearing near Culver Street in Gladewater.
A plane lies on its side after making what appeared to be an emergency
crash landing due to engine failure on Saturday in Gladewater. The pilot
and passenger walked away from the wreck.
Texas DPS Cpl. Darren Thomas looks over the scene where a plane made
what appeared to be an emergency landing due to engine failure, on
Saturday December 28, 2013, in a clearing near Culver Street in
Gladewater.
A plane sits on its side after making what appeared to be an emergency
crash landing due to engine failure, on Saturday December 28, 2013, in a
clearing near Culver Street in Gladewater.
Texas DPS troopers look over the scene where a plane made what appeared
to be an emergency landing due to engine failure, on Saturday December
28, 2013, in a clearing near Culver Street in Gladewater.
Texas DPS Trooper Brant Smith looks over the scene where a plane made
what appeared to be an emergency landing due to engine failure, on
Saturday December 28, 2013, in a clearing near Culver Street in
Gladewater.
Chris Hawley talks about seeing the plain fly over his home before it
makde what appeared to be an emergency crash landing due to engine
failure, on Saturday December 28, 2013, in a clearing near Culver Street
in Gladewater.
Texas DPS Troopers Brant Smith and Bobby Dean look over the scene where a plane made what appeared to be an emergency landing due to engine failure, on Saturday December 28, 2013, in a clearing near Culver Street in Gladewater.
Texas DPS Troopers Brant Smith and Bobby Dean look over the scene where a plane made what appeared to be an emergency landing due to engine failure, on Saturday December 28, 2013, in a clearing near Culver Street in Gladewater.
UPSHUR COUNTY, TX (KLTV) -
A single-engine plane crashed in a heavily wooded East Texas area, and a pilot and passenger miraculously survived.
It happened around 1:30 Saturday afternoon as the single engine Cessna went down in a wooded area off Culver road in Gladewater, one mile south of Highway 80. When Department of Public Safety troopers arrived on scene, witnesses say they saw the plane in some obvious trouble as it flew over their homes.
"When he circled over the rodeo grounds, I knew the plane had trouble, he wasn't running very well. We heard him go down back here behind us and my son called 911," says neighbor Bobby Knight.
The plane crashed in a heavily wooded area, not accessible to cars.
"Looks like he had some engine failure, trying to make it back to Gladewater airport. The plane was tangled in the trees, wing was broken and all the fuel was leaked out on the ground," says DPS Trooper Brent Smith.
When rescuers arrived they found that both pilot and passenger were alive and talking.
"Someone should have died. That wasn't nothing but the Lord. Somebody should have died in that plane," says neighbor Chris Hawley.
Witnesses say the pilot had lost power to his aircraft and was looking for a place to set down, but he didn't have enough room.
The pilot tried this clearing, but ripped into the trees. The wings were mangled and the plane came to rest on its side.
"You know that wasn't nothing but the Lord working," Hawley says.
No word on the extent of injuries; one man was taken to an area hospital.
DPS troopers say the investigation into that crash has been turned over to the FAA.
================
GLADEWATER — A pilot and passenger walked away Saturday afternoon from a crash landing that left a small plane mangled at the edge of a pipeline right of way through heavy woods.
“Someone should have died. That wasn’t nothing but the Lord,” said witness Chris Hawley, who had wondered at the south-bound, low-flying plane he saw at 1:45 p.m.
“They walked out of it. One of them had nothing, like, a bump on his head. And the other one had a scratch behind his right ear. They said, ‘We just had a wreck.’ I guess so.”
Department of Public Safety troopers at the scene, on Gladewater’s far west side inside the Upshur County line, would not release information on the crash or about the plane’s occupants. They said they were there to secure the scene for the Federal Aviation Administration to arrive and begin its investigation.
“We don't release names of pilots or passengers,” FAA spokesman Lance Lunsford wrote in an email response to questions. “Beyond that, all we can say right now is that we are investigating.”
Lunsford’s email said preliminary reports indicated the plane had engine trouble and clipped the tree line after landing.
Another FAA spokesman added the plane’s place of origin was unknown.
“They didn’t file a flight plan,” spokesman Roland Herwig said Saturday night from the regional headquarters in Fort Worth. “That’s not unusual.”
Records on the aviation administration’s website indicate the Cessna 150L is registered to Don L. McClendon of Kilgore. Contact information for McClendon was not available Saturday.
The FAA site also indicates the Cessna’s reciprocating engine is 42 years old.
Hawley said he thought the plane’s occupants might be inspecting the nearby pipeline right of way. He said he didn’t hear any engine sputter or other sounds of distress.
“It was quiet when it came over,” he said. “It was real low. I knew something was going on. I thought it was checking the pipeline.”
The plane came to rest on the wooded edge of the cleared right of way. It was nose-down at roughly a 45-degree angle, the left wing bent back 90 degrees and the right torn back to the fuselage. The cockpit and fuselage appeared mostly intact.
It happened around 1:30 Saturday afternoon as the single engine Cessna went down in a wooded area off Culver road in Gladewater, one mile south of Highway 80. When Department of Public Safety troopers arrived on scene, witnesses say they saw the plane in some obvious trouble as it flew over their homes.
"When he circled over the rodeo grounds, I knew the plane had trouble, he wasn't running very well. We heard him go down back here behind us and my son called 911," says neighbor Bobby Knight.
The plane crashed in a heavily wooded area, not accessible to cars.
"Looks like he had some engine failure, trying to make it back to Gladewater airport. The plane was tangled in the trees, wing was broken and all the fuel was leaked out on the ground," says DPS Trooper Brent Smith.
When rescuers arrived they found that both pilot and passenger were alive and talking.
"Someone should have died. That wasn't nothing but the Lord. Somebody should have died in that plane," says neighbor Chris Hawley.
Witnesses say the pilot had lost power to his aircraft and was looking for a place to set down, but he didn't have enough room.
The pilot tried this clearing, but ripped into the trees. The wings were mangled and the plane came to rest on its side.
"You know that wasn't nothing but the Lord working," Hawley says.
No word on the extent of injuries; one man was taken to an area hospital.
DPS troopers say the investigation into that crash has been turned over to the FAA.
================
GLADEWATER — A pilot and passenger walked away Saturday afternoon from a crash landing that left a small plane mangled at the edge of a pipeline right of way through heavy woods.
“Someone should have died. That wasn’t nothing but the Lord,” said witness Chris Hawley, who had wondered at the south-bound, low-flying plane he saw at 1:45 p.m.
“They walked out of it. One of them had nothing, like, a bump on his head. And the other one had a scratch behind his right ear. They said, ‘We just had a wreck.’ I guess so.”
Department of Public Safety troopers at the scene, on Gladewater’s far west side inside the Upshur County line, would not release information on the crash or about the plane’s occupants. They said they were there to secure the scene for the Federal Aviation Administration to arrive and begin its investigation.
“We don't release names of pilots or passengers,” FAA spokesman Lance Lunsford wrote in an email response to questions. “Beyond that, all we can say right now is that we are investigating.”
Lunsford’s email said preliminary reports indicated the plane had engine trouble and clipped the tree line after landing.
Another FAA spokesman added the plane’s place of origin was unknown.
“They didn’t file a flight plan,” spokesman Roland Herwig said Saturday night from the regional headquarters in Fort Worth. “That’s not unusual.”
Records on the aviation administration’s website indicate the Cessna 150L is registered to Don L. McClendon of Kilgore. Contact information for McClendon was not available Saturday.
The FAA site also indicates the Cessna’s reciprocating engine is 42 years old.
Hawley said he thought the plane’s occupants might be inspecting the nearby pipeline right of way. He said he didn’t hear any engine sputter or other sounds of distress.
“It was quiet when it came over,” he said. “It was real low. I knew something was going on. I thought it was checking the pipeline.”
The plane came to rest on the wooded edge of the cleared right of way. It was nose-down at roughly a 45-degree angle, the left wing bent back 90 degrees and the right torn back to the fuselage. The cockpit and fuselage appeared mostly intact.
