San Antonio International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Antonio, Texas 78216
Thursday, February 7, 2008 20:27 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor and his student had just departed and climbed to an altitude of 1,700 feet mean sea level (msl), when they began to smell a burning odor in the cockpit followed by a rough running engine and a sudden loss of power. The flight instructor made several attempts to re-start the engine before he executed a gear-up, forced landing to a strawberry field at night. Upon touch down, the airplane's left wing contacted the ground resulting in substantial damage to the spar. A witness, who observed the airplane while airborne, said that he saw flames coming from the engine compartment. Examination of the engine cowling revealed there was a localized area of paint discoloration and blistering in the area where the turbo charger was located. Further examination of the engine revealed that the turbocharger exhaust stack had separated at an area where it had been welded. A review of the engine logbooks revealed there was no entry made regarding a weld in this area, so it could not be determined who or when the weld was made.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Separation of the turbocharger exhaust stack, which resulted in a loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/7/2008
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2027
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City San Antonio
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78216
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 293201N
Event Location Longitude 0982807W
Event Location Airport San Antonio International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SAT
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2053 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID SAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 809
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23404
NTSB Notification Source SAT FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Feb 7 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Antonio, TX

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2225T
NTSB Number DFW08LA065
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 In-flight
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model TR182
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number R1820001
Certified Max Gross Weight 3100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5308.2
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Laguna Verde leasing
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address Alpha Tango Flying Services
Operator City San Antonio
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SSF
Departure City Stinson
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1715
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 descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 4 2008 9:45AM
User who most recently changed record GAMW
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 --