New Braunfels Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

New Braunfels, Texas 78130
Thursday, November 22, 2001 15:45 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

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.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/22/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1545
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City New Braunfels
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78130
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport New Braunfels Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BAZ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 651
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID SAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 809
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.75
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11500
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 23 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2002 1:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Antonio

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N48941
NTSB Number FTW02LA042
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 152
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15281062
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Nov 15 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 9963.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Willie Alva
Aircraft Owner Street Address 557 Sanday Road
Aircraft Owner City San Antonio
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78216
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name International Flight Center
Operator Same as Owner? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ADS
Departure City Addison
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1345
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SAT
Destination City San Antonio
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 28 2002 6:04PM
User who most recently changed record MORJU
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --