Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Dimmit County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Carrizo Springs, Texas 78834
Monday, June 17, 2013 14:40 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that after an initial preflight of the airplane, he had the fuel tanks topped off with aviation fuel. He then completed another preflight inspection that included straining the fuel and rechecking the engine oil. The pilot stated that there were no anomalies with engine operation during his before-takeoff engine run-up or during takeoff; however, during the initial climb, when the airplane was about 300 feet above the ground, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot was unable to restore engine power as he maneuvered the airplane to a nearby dirt road for an off-airport landing. The airplane impacted terrain after the right wing collided with tree branches during the forced landing.
A postaccident examination revealed a significant amount of water contamination in the airplane’s fuel system. The airport’s fuel service truck was checked for water contamination; however, no water contamination was present in samples obtained after the accident. A review of available rainfall data indicated that 5 to 7 inches of rain had fallen since the airplane had last been flown. The loss of engine power was likely due to water contamination of the fuel system. The amount of water contamination that was detected in the fuel system after the accident should have been identified by the pilot during a normal preflight inspection. The engine examination did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to identify the water contamination of the fuel system during his preflight inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power during the airplane’s initial climb.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/17/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1440 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Carrizo Springs |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78834 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 283120N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0994925W |
| Event Location Airport | Dimmit County Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KCZT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 598 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 97 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KCOT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 474 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 32 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 36 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| 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) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KCOT 171953Z AUTO 17005KT 10SM CLR 36/22 A29 |
| 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) | 31951 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Central Regional Duty Officer, |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 1 2013 9:43AM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N49108 |
| NTSB Number | CEN13LA354 |
| 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 | 15283421 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1675 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 1 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 13161 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Alpha Tango Flying Service, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1331 Northern Blvd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | San Antonio |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78216-4823 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Alpha Tango Flying Service, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1331 Northern Blvd. |
| Operator City | San Antonio |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 78216-4823 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | KCZT |
| Departure City | Carrizo Springs |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1440 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KSAT |
| Destination City | San Antonio |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 1 2013 9:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 13 |
| Runway Length | 5003 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |