Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sandwich, Illinois 60548
Sunday, July 7, 2013 10:50 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that as the airplane was descending through about 4,700 feet mean sea level, the engine began to run rough and eventually lost complete power. He noted that the engine monitoring system indicated that there was no fuel flow, despite the airplane having about 16 gallons of automobile fuel still available. The pilot reported that his several attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. He requested radar vectors from air traffic control to the nearest airport; however, he was unable to reach the airfield, so the pilot made a forced landing to a cornfield. A postaccident examination did not reveal any mechanical or fuel system anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation, and the engine subsequently started and ran without any anomalies. Additional examination of the fuel system revealed that an ample amount of uncontaminated automobile fuel was available.
The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of carburetor ice during engine operations at descent engine power settings. Additionally, the pilot’s use of automobile fuel increased the likelihood of carburetor ice accumulation because it is more volatile and therefore absorbs more heat from the mixing air when vaporizing for engine consumption. The pilot stated that he did not apply carburetor heat after the loss of engine power. It is likely that the pilot’s use of automobile fuel and his flight in weather conditions that were conducive for carburetor icing resulted in the formation of carburetor ice during the airplane’s descent.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to recognize the formation of carburetor ice during cruise descent and apply carburetor heat, which resulted in the total loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/7/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1050 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sandwich |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60548 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413818N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0883840W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | 1052 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 43 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KARR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 712 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KARR 071552Z 21010KT 10SM CLR 27/19 A3002 RM |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31946 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Central Region Duty Officer, L |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 5 2013 4:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N549LS |
| NTSB Number | CEN13LA398 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Flight Design GmbH |
| Aircraft Model | CTLS |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 07-11-19 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1320 |
| 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 | Jan 9 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 553 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Daniel E. Mayworm |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mundelein |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60060-6012 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Daniel E. Mayworm |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Mundelein |
| Operator State | IL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 60060-6012 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 1H0 |
| Departure City | St. Louis |
| Departure State | MO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 912 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | UGN |
| Destination City | Waukegan |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 11 2013 12:39PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |