20190831014699A

On August 31, 2019, at 0851 central daylight time (CDT) the reporting inspector received a call from the FAA southwest region operations center indicating that an aircraft model PA28, registration number N55633, lost engine power inbound to Conroe, north Houston airport (kcxo) runway 14 and crashed into a pond 3 miles nw of the airport. Two persons onboard reported minor injuries.

On a written statement submitted by the pilot, on August 31, 2019, at 0620 CDT he departed cherokee county airport (kjso) for palestine airport (kpsn) to pick up his sister. Pilot indicated that the aircraft fuel tanks had been previously filled to the ?tabs? And verified before departure (36 gallons). At approximately 0700 CDT, they departed kpsn for a direct flight to kcxo. He indicated that fuel planning was to use the right tank until descent. When the GPS showed 15 NM north of kcxo, he decided to turn on the fuel pump and switch to the left tank so he would not have to think about it later. Once set, he tuned in the ATIS. The altimeter was adjusted and it was noted that clouds were at 2000 feet. At 10 NM, he contacted the tower at kcxo. He was told to ident and perform a straight in approach to runway 14. As they approached traffic pattern altitude with the airport in sight, he began the landing sequence. He set the RPM to 1800, slid the mixture to full rich, and turned on carb heat. Pilot indicated that as soon as he turned on carb heat, the engine went to idle. He immediately flipped the carb heat back to off and then realized that it would not fix the problem if he actually had carb ice. He turned the carb heat back on and left it there. He looked around and saw a clearing and a road about 10 degrees to his right and aimed for it. He keyed the radio and called out 55633 is declaring ife, they've lost engine power, and going to try to put it down on the road. He switched the fuel selector back to the right tank, then cycled the throttle twice, leaving it at full power. At this point, they were approximately 100 feet over the trees. He indicated that there was no way they were going to make the road and had to pull up at the last minute to clear the tree line. He remember looking down as they cleared and seeing 60 mph indicated air speed. He pointed to nose back down and they were looking at the edge of a pond. He said that had to choose between hitting a large berm or setting down in the water and, for better or worse, he chose the water. As they struck the water, he was thrown forward and his face hit something. The plane flipped up on its nose. For a moment, he thought it might settle back down, but it rolled over onto its top. He remember seeing nothing but water against the windows. Part of the passenger window busted and water filled the cabin quickly. He managed to turn the latch on the top of the door, which was under his feet but it did not feel right. He pulled the main latch on the door but could not get it to budge. He immediately began pushing on the plexiglass window which gave way. After breaking enough of it clear, he started out the window, reaching back and grabbing his sister to pull her behind him.

The pilot added that he purchased this aircraft recently and was flown to nacogdoches (koch) for an annual inspection. While awaiting the inspection, he had an opportunity to fly the aircraft to jacksonville (kjso). While attempting to depart koch, he could not get the aircraft engine to run above an idle. Aircraft towed back to the parking area and then let it sit until it could go through its annual inspection. During the inspection a missing gascolator screen was installed, the carburetor seal replaced and the bowl cleaned. Then he flew the aircraft to kjso without issue where it sat until August 31st.

Weather condition at cxo airport around the time of the accident: temp: 74, dew point 71, relative humidity 91%, wind: calm.