# NTSB CEN12LA257: Clifton Breezy, N6155M, Laneville, TX, April 23, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 23, 2012, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Laneville, TX - Coordinates: 31.936111, -94.837776 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.9361&lon=-94.8378&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 7, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA-DAL-FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 83485 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12LA257 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/83485/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=83485 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA257 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Temp/humidity/pressure: conducive to carburetor icing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Patty Clifton R BREEZY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md?model=056201C), [All aircraft, 435 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md) - [Engine fuel and control: fuel control/carburetor](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057322): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [Patty Clifton R BREEZY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057322/cases.md?model=056201C), [All aircraft, 195 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057322/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Patty Clifton R BREEZY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=056201C), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Landing: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Patty Clifton R BREEZY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=056201C), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Patty Clifton R BREEZY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=056201C), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that the airplane’s engine lost power during cruise flight. He increased the mixture and manipulated the throttle to no avail. He chose a field for a forced landing, but at the last minute, he saw a barbed wire fence in the flight path. The pilot did not want the open-cockpit airplane to hit the barbed wire fence directly, so he pulled back on the control column in an attempt to clear the fence. The airplane then "pancaked" to the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any failures or malfunctions that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. The closest recorded temperature and dewpoint were conducive for carburetor icing conditions at glide and cruise power. ## Factual narrative On April 23, 2012, at 1130 central daylight time, an experimental Clifton Breezy, N6155M, collided with the terrain during a forced landing to a field in Laneville, Texas, following a loss of engine power. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The accident occurred during the last leg of a multi-leg cross country flight, which departed from Palestine, Texas, about 1045. The pilot had just purchased the airplane and was flying it cross-country back to his local airport. The pilot filled the airplane's fuel tanks during the last en route stop. About 45 minutes later, the engine lost power. The pilot stated that he increased the mixture and pumped the throttle to no avail. He selected a field in which to land and at the last minute saw a barbed wire fence in the flight path. The pilot noted that he did not want to hit the barbed wire head-on in the open-cockpit airplane. He increased the pitch attitude in an attempt to clear the fence; however, the airplane "pancaked" to the ground. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any failures/malfunctions that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. The temperature and dewpoint recorded at the Cherokee County Airport (KJSO), Jacksonville, Texas, located about 23 miles west of the accident site, at 1255, were 19 degrees Celsius and 0 degrees Celsius, respectively. Federal Aviation Administration guidance noted a possibility of carburetor icing at glide and cruise power under those conditions. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6155M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6155M-2018-02-15), registration cancelled 2018-02-15, S/N 101, built 1993 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CLIFTON BREEZY - Registry model: [Patty Clifton R BREEZY](https://openairdocs.org/model/patty-clifton-r-breezy) (registry code 056201C) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 101 - Engines: LYCOMING 0-235-C2C 110 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Carl Davis - Registered owner: Aircraft Acquisitions, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, May 1, 2011, 20 hours before - Departed: KPSN, Palestine, TX - Destination: K3F3, Mansfield, LA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 35; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 3, 2010; seat: front; flight hours: 474 total, 18 in this make and model, 373 as pilot in command, 52 in the last 90 days, 47 in the last 30 days, 7 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 32 °F - Observed at: KJSO, 23 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 20120423007759A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120423007759A), Apr 23, 2012: Patty Clifton R BREEZY, Laneville, TX, Substantial damage. Refueled in palestine TX (psn) and took off for williams TX(3F3). Approximately 45 minutes into the flight, the engine lost all power. Pilot put aircraft down… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 6, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=83485. 652 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 488 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40376325&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Record of Conversations (3) (item 2, .PDF, 98 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40376341&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversations%20(3)-Master.PDF - Carburetor Icing Probablility Chart (item 3, .PDF, 67 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40376351&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Carburetor%20Icing%20Probablility%20Chart-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.