Mechanical & Engine Failure · NTSB CEN15FA032
LANGSTON, FREDERICK L RV 4 — Boerne, TX
| Date | October 28, 2014 |
| Location | Boerne, TX |
| Aircraft | LANGSTON, FREDERICK L RV 4 (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Emergency descent Off-field or emergency landing |
| Pilot age | 70 |
| Pilot total time | 1,687 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | 50 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
The private pilot was flying his experimental, amateur-built airplane at an altitude between 500 and 800 ft above ground level when several witnesses heard the engine sounds suddenly stop. The airplane then entered a steep bank toward a nearby airstrip, descended, and disappeared from view. The airplane impacted thickly-wooded, rocky terrain and came to rest upright about 100 ft from the edge of the runway. Although the airplane was destroyed by post-crash fire, examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of carburetor icing at cruise power and a potential for serious carburetor icing at glide power; however, it could not be determined if or to what extent the engine may have accumulated carburetor ice.