Piper J5A N40888

Summary

On 15 March 1999 at about 20:20 local time, a Piper J5A registered N40888 was involved in an accident near Wausau, Wisconsin, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 March 1999 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Wausau, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

45.0202, -89.5299

Aircraft

Piper J5A

Registration

N40888

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99LA109

Nobody was injured.

the loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the lack of suitable terrain for landing. A factor to the accident was the aircraft owner not performing necessary maintenance to the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft experienced a loss of engine power while in cruise flight. The pilot, after noticing a drop in rpm, applied carburetor heat and the engine quit. The airplane nosed over during a forced landing in a snow-covered field. The aircraft owner stated, in a telephone conversation, he had flown the airplane the previous day when the engine quit after a normal landing. After exiting the plane he noticed that there was fuel running out of the carburetor and that tapping on the carburetor stopped the fuel from running. The owner contacted a mechanic, who was not an aircraft mechanic, and was told that the problem was from dirt in the carburetor. The mechanic advised running the engine and then shutting off the fuel to purge the dirt from the carburetor. On the day of the accident, the pilot and the aircraft owner started the engine and shut off the fuel allowing the engine to quit. The pilot stated that the owner said that this would fix the problem. The fuel system was inspected and no anomalies were found. The main fuel tank contained between six and seven gallons of fuel. A post accident inspection of the carburetor revealed no anomalies that could be associated with the reported problem of float sticking.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.