Piper PA-22-150 accident near New Century, Kansas, October 12, 2005
On October 12, 2005 at about 1:15 am local time, a Piper PA-22-150, registered N8875D, was substantially damaged in an accident near New Century, Kansas (New Century Air Center airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
loss of engine power due to the pilot's improper use of carbuetor heat and his improper inflight planning/decision. Contributing factors were the inadequate supervision of the student by the flight instructor, conditions conducive to carburetor ice, dark night light conditions, and an unlit taxiway sign.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2005 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- New Century, Kansas · New Century Air Center · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-22-150 · all PA-22-150s on the register
- Registration
- N8875D · registry record · serial 22-6049
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After making a touch-and-go landing and climbing to approximately 200 feet, the engine "sputtered and quit." The student relinquished airplane control to the instructor, who performed a forced landing on a grassy area near the runway. During the ground roll, the airplane's left main landing gear struck an unlit metal box, folding it up against the fuselage. The airplane spun around, twisting the nose gear, and came to rest just south of the runway and next to a taxiway. Later perfunctory tests failed to "identify a cause" as to why the engine lost power. At the time of the accident, the temperature was 14 degrees C. (57 degrees F.), and the dew point was 12 degrees C. (54 degrees F.), respectively. According to the Carburetor Icing Probability Chart, these conditions were conducive to serious carburetor icing conditions at cruise and glide power settings. According to the Piper Aircraft Corporation and Textron-Lycoming, since 1989 they have required the use of carburetor heat prior to the reduction of power and throughout the landing, or until the landing is assured.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,513 hours in all; 412 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 7,323 as pilot in command; 4,495 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 65 hours in all; 5 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 23 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,286 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2005; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IXD New Century KS at 1:15 am
- Destination: LXT Lee Summit KS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 5,130 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.03 inHg
- Observation at 1:15 am from IXD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN06LA007.