New Hibiscus Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Vero Beach, Florida 32966
Tuesady, January 20, 1998 13:50 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After completing 15 minutes of airwork, the training flight returned to the airport and the pilots established a normal approach for a series of touch-and-go landings. The pilots used the normal pre-landing check procedures that included the application of carburetor heat. After a wheel landing, with the carburetor heat in the cold position, the dual student continued the landing roll and applied takeoff power for a climb. The airplane operated normally until it was 100-150 feet above the ground. Without warning, the engine lost power. The pilots elected to continue the runway heading and collided with trees during the forced landing An examination of the engine assembly disclosed that both magnetos produced ignition sparks for all cylinders. The spark plugs appeared to have been relatively new and showed normal wear. A small quantity of fuel and water was recovered from the carburetor bowl; there was no evidence of water found in the fuel system fuel filters. The airplane lost engine power approximately 20 minutes into the planned 1.1 hour flight. A review of recovered weather data from the nearest reporting facility disclosed that, weather conditions were favorable for the formation of carburetor ice at glide and cruise power settings.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/20/1998
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1350
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City VERO BEACH
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32966
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport NEW HIBISCUS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X52
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 25
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1352 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID VRB
Elevation of weather observation facility 25
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 800
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 56
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 20 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1547
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 10:37AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N38645
NTSB Number ATL98LA035
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model J5-A
Aircraft Series Identifier J5-A
Aircraft Serial Number 5-1030
Certified Max Gross Weight 1649
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 1650
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LEE D. ARNOLD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1890 98TH AVE
Aircraft Owner City VERO BEACH
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32966
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code X52
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 3100
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --