- Date
- July 2, 1991, 18:20 local (Jul 3, 1991, 00:20 UTC)
- Place
- El Paso, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5488KCessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910702025629A
- Case key
- 23360
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
The power loss due to carburetor icing and the pilot's failure to use carburetor heat. Factors were the icing conditions, lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing, and the gusty tail wind.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that as he was descending after crossing a mountain ridge line, the engine started running rough and then quit completely. The failure occurred over unsuitable terrain, however, the pilot located a narrow gravel road and executed a forced landing. The landing was made with a 13 to 16 knot tail wind. During the landing roll the pilot lost control, the airplane veered left, and nosed over. No evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction was found on the engine. The pilot, in his initial interview, stated that he suspected carburetor ice. A review of the icing probability charts indicated that, for the atmospheric conditions that existed, there was a threat of visible carburetor ice at both rated engine power and glide power settings. Temperature and dew point were 77 degrees and 64 degrees respectively.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5488K
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274154
- Airframe hours
- 6,450
- Engine
- Lycoming D-320-D2J, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Travis Aerial, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Travis Aerial, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1990 · 700 hours before
- Departed
- E27 · White City, NM
- Destination
- ELP · El Paso, TX
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,340 total · 400 in this make and model · 1,200 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 110 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ELP, 9 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.