# NTSB MIA06LA026: Cessna 152, N49815, Key Largo, FL, December 8, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 8, 2005, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Key Largo, FL - Coordinates: 25.083333, -80.416664 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.0833&lon=-80.4167&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 62949 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA06LA026 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62949/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA06LA026 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons that resulted in the airplane being ditched into the ocean. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's operation of an airplane with known deficiencies due to it having sat in flooded waters. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - operation with known deficiencies in equipment - attempted, pilot in command - Forced landing, descent - emergency - Ditching, emergency descent/landing ## Analysis The pilot stated that he had been asked by the owner to ferry an airplane that had just been purchased, and further said that the airplane had been sitting in an area that had extensive flooding, which had occurred as a result of hurricanes that had affected the area. After conducting a preflight examination the pilot said he took off, and was in cruise flight at an altitude of 1,500 feet for about 15 minutes, when all of a sudden, without warning, the engine ceased operating. He said he was able to keep the engine operating through the use of the primer, but after a little while the engine ceased operating all together, and he ditched the airplane in the ocean. The pilot also said that he had experienced "several problems" with the FAA, and at the time of the accident flight, both his FAA private pilot certificate and his FAA airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate had been revoked. After recovery from the ocean an FAA inspector examined the airplane and it was to have extensive corrosion. The magnetos, carburetor and spark plugs had either been worn, severely fouled, or had corroded, and according to the inspector, due to the flooding, as well as the airplane having been ditched in the ocean, he was unable to determine its preaccident condition. ## Factual narrative On December 8, 2005, about 1600 eastern standard time, a Cessna 152, N49815, registered to and operated by Command Aircraft Parts and Recovery Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight, ditched into the Atlantic Ocean, near Key Largo, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The unlicensed pilot received no injuries, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight originated in Marathon, Florida, the same day, about 1545. The pilot stated that he had been asked by the owner of the airplane/owner of Command Aircraft Parts and Recovery Inc., an airplane wreckage salvage company, to ferry an airplane that the company had recently purchased. The pilot further stated that the airplane had been sitting in an area that had extensive flooding, which had occurred as a result of hurricanes that had affected the area. After conducting a preflight examination, the pilot said he took off, climbed to an altitude of 1,500 feet, and flew the airplane over the water, just off the Florida Keys. He said that everything was proceeding uneventfully, with the airplane "operating flawlessly." After being in cruise flight for about 15 minutes, he said that all of a sudden, without warning, the engine ceased operating. As part of his emergency actions, the pilot said he pumped the primer, and the engine began to operate sporadically, and added that he was able to keep the engine operating through the use of the primer. When he pulled the primer out it, he said it would be sucked back in. After a little while the engine ceased operating all together, and the pilot said he ditched the airplane in the shallow ocean waters off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. According to the pilot, he had experienced "several problems" with the FAA, and at the time of the accident flight, both his FAA private pilot certificate and his FAA airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate had been revoked. Personnel from Command Aircraft Parts and Recovery Inc., recovered the accident airplane from the ocean and transported it to their salvage facility in Bunnell, Florida. On January 15, 2006, an FAA inspector visited the Command Aircraft Parts and Recovery Inc., facility in Bunnell, Florida, and examined the aircraft. According to the inspector, the airplane was found to have extensive corrosion. he said when he examined the magnetos, carburetor and spark plugs, they displayed evidence of having been worn, severely fouled, having extensive corrosion. The inspector said that due to the airplane having sat in flood waters, as well as having ditched in the ocean, he was unable to determine its preaccident condition. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N49815](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N49815-2010-06-22), registration cancelled 2010-06-22, S/N 15281335, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15281335 - Engines: Lycoming O-235 110 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Command Aircraft Inc., - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: MTH, Marathon, FL - Destination: X47, Bunnell, FL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 50; injuries: none; seat: left; flight hours: 6,000 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 120° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 30.09 inHg - Observed at: EYW, 30 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 20051208032799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051208032799A), Dec 8, 2005: Cessna 152, Key Largo, FL, Minor damage. (-23) N49815, a CE-152, on 10/24/2005 was subject to the rising water of a tropical hurricane and rendered a constructive total loss by usaig insurance… 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.