Cessna 152 incident near Pilot Point, Texas, April 30, 2015
On April 30, 2015 at about 4:15 pm local time, a 1977 Cessna 152, registered N49158, suffered minor damage in an incident during maneuvering near Pilot Point, Texas. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of engine power due to the separation of the distributor gear arm on the left magneto.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 2015 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Pilot Point, Texas · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152, built 1977 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N49158 · no longer on the register · serial 15281171
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting a training flight. After the student completed some maneuvers, the engine started running roughly. The flight instructor made several attempts to correct the problem without success. The airplane was unable to maintain altitude, so the flight instructor performed a forced landing to a field, which resulted in minor damage to the airplane. An examination of the engine revealed that the Nos. 2 and 4 lower sparkplugs were lead-fouled and inoperative and that the Nos. 1 and 3 lower sparkplugs were lead-fouled but still operational. Further examination revealed that the distributor gear arm on the left magneto had separated and that the distributor gear arm on the right magneto was loose. Following the incident, the operator examined its fleet and found an additional 19 magnetos with loose distributor gear arms. The magneto manufacturer reported that it had seen 16 magnetos that exhibited similar failures. The manufacturer subsequently issued a service bulletin recommending that distributor gear assemblies in the affected magneto, which included the incident magneto, be removed and replaced at the "earliest convenient maintenance time, not to exceed the next 50 hours" with a replacement gear assembly.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail during maneuvering defining event
- Loss of engine power (partial) during maneuvering
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Ignition system › Magneto/distributor › Failure
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 39 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,229 hours in all; 262 in the last 90 days; 84 in the last 30 days; 942 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 28, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,204 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 25, 2015
- Maximum gross weight: 1,676 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: US Aviation Group LLC
The flight
- Departed from: KDTO Denton TX at 4:00 pm
- Destination: KDTO Denton TX
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from KDTO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.