# NTSB ERA22LA046: Cessna 150M, N704HQ, Margarettsville, NC, November 4, 2021 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: November 4, 2021, 19:30 local (23:30 UTC) - Place: Margarettsville, NC · Highway - Coordinates: 36.532803, -77.347262 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.5328&lon=-77.3473&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 104208 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA22LA046 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/104208/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104208 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22LA046 ## Probable cause The pilot’s delayed application of carburetor heat during the descent, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing. ## 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: [Cessna 150M, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 435 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md) - [Action: delayed action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 894 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 361 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 39 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis During a flight at night and in visual meteorological conditions, after descending to about 1,600 ft mean sea level on a localizer approach, the engine began to “sputter.” The pilot applied the carburetor heat, and the engine “got a little surge of power” and he pushed the carburetor heat back in (OFF). The engine sputtered again, and he re-applied the carburetor heat. He then raised the nose to gain altitude, and the engine stopped completely. The pilot attempted to perform a forced landing to a road; however, the airplane came to rest in a tree canopy about 10 nautical miles southeast of the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the right aileron, and the horizontal stabilizers. A postaccident examination of the wreckage, and a test run of the airplane’s engine, revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Review of weather conditions indicated the potential for serious icing at cruise power for the reported temperature and dew point; therefore, it is likely that the loss of engine power was the result of carburetor ice. ## Factual narrative On November 4, 2021, at 1930 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N704HQ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Margarettsville, North Carolina. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that, after descending to about 1,600 ft mean sea level, while on the localizer approach to runway 34 at the Emporia-Greensville Regional Airport (EMV), Emporia, Virginia, the engine began to “sputter.” He applied the carburetor heat, the engine “got a little surge of power,” and he pushed the carburetor heat back in (OFF). The engine sputtered again, and he re-applied the carburetor heat. He then raised the nose to gain altitude, and the engine stopped completely. He turned the airplane toward a road he had recently overflown, declared an emergency, and landed in the tree canopy about 10 nautical miles southeast of EMV. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the throttle, mixture, and carburetor heat controls remained intact and functioned normally. Fuel drained from the carburetor was blue in color with no water or debris present. The top sparkplugs were removed; their electrodes were grey in color and appeared “worn normal” when compared to a Champion Check-a-Plug Chart. Fuel was plumbed into the engine from an external fuel tank to the carburetor. The engine was primed, started, ran at idle without anomalies, and responded to throttle inputs. The 1935 weather observation reported at EMV included a temperature of 6°C and dew point of 5°C. A review of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that in those conditions, the probability of carburetor icing was “serious” at cruise power. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N704HQ](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N704HQ-2025-12-09), registration cancelled 2025-12-09, S/N 15078627, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150M - Registry model: [Cessna 150M](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150m) (registry code 2071830) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15078627 - Year built: 1976 - Airframe hours: 3556 - Engines: Continental O-200A 90 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Last inspection: Annual, August 23, 2021, 45 hours before - Departed: SGJ, St. Augustine, FL - Destination: EMV, Emporia, VA - Flight plan: IFR - Equipment: Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, Satellite tracking device ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; last flight review September 12, 2021; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 755 total, 755 as pilot in command, 47 in the last 90 days, 38 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,500 ft broken - Temperature: 43 °F, dew point 41 °F - Altimeter: 30.26 inHg - Observed at: EMV, 11 nm away - METAR: KEMV 042335Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM BKN055 OVC100 06/05 A3026 RMK AO2 T00570051 ## 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 20211104020799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20211104020799A), Nov 4, 2021: Cessna 150M, Margarettsville, NC, Substantial damage. Pilot of N704HQ was on approach on a flight from st augustine, FL (ksgj) to emporium, NC (kemv). At 1600' MSL the engine lost power and the pilot aimed towards… ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 7, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104208. 103 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 7 pages, 8.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12947534&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=01-01%20NTSB%20form%206120_print_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record - information from FAA inspector (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 741 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12946634&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=01-04%20MFR%20Information%20from%20FAA%20Inspector_ERA22LA046-Rel.pdf - Pilot logbook excerpts (item 3, PDF, 4 pages, 7.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12948081&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=02-01%20Pilot%20Logbook%20Excerpts_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Maintenance logbook excerpts (item 4, PDF, 4 pages, 7.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12947426&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=03-01%20Maintenance%20Log%20Excerpts_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Weather reports and records (item 5, PDF, 3 pages, 474 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12947945&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=04-01%20-%20METARS_KEMV-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 6, PDF, 4 pages, 4 photos, 4.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12947821&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=06-01a-%20photo%20array_ERA22LA046-Rel.pdf - Wreckage examination report (item 7, PDF, 5 pages, 5 photos, 2.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12948253&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=06-01%20Engine%20Examination%20-%20ERA22LA046-Rel.pdf - Video of engine run (item 8, MOV, 71.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12947634&FileExtension=MOV&FileName=IMG_7154-Rel.MOV 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.