# NTSB CEN10LA136: Maule M-5-235C, N56347, La Porte, TX, February 14, 2010 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 14, 2010, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: La Porte, TX - Coordinates: 29.668056, -95.064163 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6681&lon=-95.0642&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 22, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 75439 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN10LA136 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/75439/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=75439 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN10LA136 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Maule M-5-235C, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=5460135), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Power plant](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057100): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Maule M-5-235C, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057100/cases.md?model=5460135), [All aircraft, 198 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057100/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Maule M-5-235C, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=5460135), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot was returning from a short personal flight when the engine stopped producing power. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and landed short of the runway and flipped over. The engine was test run using the airplane's existing fuel system. The engine started and ran through its entire powerband without hesitation. A functional test of the carburetor heat and both magnetos were normal, and all engine gauges indicated normal readings. No mechanical deficiencies were noted with the engine or the fuel system. The cause of the power loss could not be determined. ## Factual narrative On February 14, 2010, at 1600 central standard time, N56347, a Maule M-5-235C, sustained substantial damage after a loss of engine power while returning to land at La Porte Municipal Airport (T41), La Porte, Texas. The private pilot/registered owner, and sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to the pilot, he departed on a local flight at 1550 and flew over the bay, which was about 2 miles away from the airport. Upon his return, the engine started to lose power and he was unable to make the runway. The airplane landed on soft/wet grass short of Runway 12 and subsequently flipped over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing struts on both wings. The engine was test run on March 29, 2010, under the supervision of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The run was conducted using the airplane's existing fuel system. The engine started and ran through its entire powerband without hesitation. A functional test of the carburetor heat and both magnetos were normal, and all engine gauges indicated normal readings. No mechanical deficiencies were noted with the engine or the fuel system. Weather at Ellington Field (EFD), about 7 miles southwest of the accident site, at 1550, was reported as wind from 250 degrees at 8 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clouds broken at 2,500 feet and 5,500 feet, temperature 20 degrees Celsius, dewpoint 10 degrees Celsius, and a barometric pressure setting 29.94 inches of Mercury. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N56347](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N56347), registered now, S/N 7277C, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MAULE M-5-235C - Registry model: [Maule M-5-235C](https://openairdocs.org/model/maule-m-5-235c) (registry code 5460135) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 7277C - Engines: LYCOMING O-540 SERIES 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Kingsbury Ralph E Jr - Registered owner: Kingsbury Ralph E Jr - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 25, 2009, 73 hours before - Departed: T41, La Porte, TX - Destination: T41, La Porte, TX - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: T41, La Porte Municipal, runway 12, 4,165 × 75 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review March 25, 2009; seat: left; flight hours: 1,139 total, 242 in this make and model, 22 in the last 90 days, 11 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 250° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,500 ft broken - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 inHg - Observed at: EFD, 7 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20100214028429A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100214028429A), Feb 14, 2010: Maule M-5-235C, Laporte, TX, Substantial damage. The pilot had departed T41 for a short flight to the waterfront and back. While on base for runway 15 the pilot stated that the aircraft began to lose power.… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 4, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=75439. 765 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 746 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40328821&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Record of Conversation-FAA (item 2, .PDF, 19 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40328822&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation-FAA-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.