NTSB Cites Carburetor Ice In August Accident | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.16.25

Airborne-AffordableFliers-04.17.25

SunnFun-DayFour-04.03.25

Mon, Jan 04, 2016

NTSB Cites Carburetor Ice In August Accident

Pilot Says He Had Not Anticipated Ice During Accident Sequence

Our primary flight instructors have drilled into us that carburetor ice can occur even in the hottest months, but the pilot of a Cessna 172 flying along Florida's Riviera Beach last August apparently forgot that lesson.

Fortunately, the pilot managed to make a successful emergency landing on the beach, and was not seriously injured.

According to an NTSB factual report, after descending to 400 feet above mean sea level along a beach on the return leg of a cross country flight, the pilot attempted to increase power to level off but, the engine would not respond. The pilot then checked to make sure the fuel valve was on "BOTH," and the primer was in and locked. He then attempted to restart the engine. The engine however, would not restart.

The pilot determined that the beach was the best and safest place to land, so he extended the wing flaps to the full down position, and landed on the beach. During the landing, the nose landing gear dug into the sand, and collapsed.

Examination of the airplane revealed that it was substantially damaged and approximately 12 gallons of fuel was still on board. Further examination revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failure or malfunctions of the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

After the wreckage was recovered the engine was started and run at full power. Review of a carburetor icing chart revealed that atmospheric conditions around the time of the accident were conducive to icing at glide and cruise power. When asked if he had used carburetor heat during his descent prior to the loss of engine power, the pilot advised that he had not used it.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.18.25)

“The New York region is home to three of the world’s preeminent airports, serving upwards of 150 million passengers annually. But the drive from Manhattan to any of the>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.18.25): DETRESFA (Distress Phrase) [ICAO]

DETRESFA (Distress Phrase) [ICAO] The code word used to designate an emergency phase wherein there is reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grav>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.18.25)

Aero Linx: The Cradle of Aviation Museum The Cradle of Aviation Museum is an aviation and spaceflight museum located in East Garden City, New York on Long Island to commemorate Lon>[...]

Airborne 04.14.25: H2-Powered R44, Oshkosh Organized Chaos, UAL School Sued

Also: Spirit CEO Resigns, ‘Mental Health in Aviation’, U-2 Dragon Lady, Elixir Delivers Unither Bioelectronics announced that its modified Robinson R44 helicopter made >[...]

Airborne Affordable Flyers 04.17.25: HKS Support Upgrade, Van's Tanks, eBristell

Also: 160-hp Carbon Cub UL, Flybox Avionics, Blackshape Aircraft, Scalebirds Update Light sport engine manufacturer HKS recently announced that it will be relocating its parts supp>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC