Perry Lefors Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Masterson, Texas 79058
Thursday, August 8, 2002 16:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 1,000-hour commercial pilot reported that the engine lost power during cruise flight. A detailed inspection of the engine revealed that an aluminum sliver was found lodged between the needle valve and carburetor housing seat, resulting in a loss of engine power. The pilot did not return a completed NTSB Form 6120.5 as requested by the investigator-in-charge.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of a blockage of the carburetor. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the emergency landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/8/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Masterson
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79058
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Perry Lefors Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PPA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 3245
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 35
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 25
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
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) 15480
NTSB Notification Source FAA, Fort Worth, TX
NTSB Notification Date Sep 9 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Lubbock, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N43473
NTSB Number FTW02LA251
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-151
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7415504
Certified Max Gross Weight 2100
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 4
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 --
Airframe Hours 4000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Stephen E. Martin
Aircraft Owner Street Address 321 Summit, Route 1 Box 143
Aircraft Owner City Miami
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79059
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Cecil Martin
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address RR 1 Box 22
Operator City Miami
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 79059
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PPA
Departure City Pampa
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 29 2004 3:01PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --