- Date
- September 22, 2022, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Savoy, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N495TCCommander 114TC
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20220922021709A
- Case key
- 105986
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the airplane shuddered after he completed maneuvers in a local practice area. After the shudder recurred, he realized that the engine was “barely running.” The pilot’s efforts to restore engine power were not successful. He subsequently lowered the landing gear and executed a forced landing to a highway. The airplane encountered a highway median area during the landing and sustained damage to the outboard portion of the right wing and the right aileron. On-scene observation of the airplane indicated that the wing fuel tanks appeared to be full. A postrecovery examination of the engine and airframe fuel system did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation.
Factual narrative
On September 22, 2022, about 1530 central daylight time, a Commander 114TC airplane, N495TC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Savoy, Texas. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that the airplane shuddered after he completed maneuvers in a local practice area. After the shudder recurred, he realized that the engine was “barely running.” The pilot’s efforts to restore engine power were not successful. He subsequently lowered the landing gear and executed a forced landing to a highway. The airplane encountered a highway median area during the landing and sustained damage to the outboard portion of the right wing and the right aileron. On-scene observation of the airplane indicated that the wing fuel tanks appeared to be full. A postrecovery examination of the engine and airframe fuel system did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N495TC
- Reported as
- Commander 114TC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20004
- Built
- 1995
- Airframe hours
- 2,095.2
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-580-B1A, 315 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2022 · 16.8 hours before
- Departed
- TKI · Dallas, TX
- Destination
- TKI · Dallas, TX
- Airport
- N/A · N/A
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Onboard weather, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 3, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 379 total · 15 in this make and model · 375 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KTKI, 28 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KTKI 222053Z 23005KT 10SM CLR 36/08 A2995
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 15, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 23.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.