Piper PA-24 N6337P

Summary

On 8 March 2001 at about 20:30 local time, a Piper PA-24 registered N6337P, operated by Steven D. Talbot, was involved in an accident near Saint Helens, Oregon, 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

8 March 2001 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Saint Helens, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.8806, -122.9207

Aircraft

Piper PA-24

Registration

N6337P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Steven D. Talbot

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hillsboro → Everett

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA01LA063

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's improper use of the carburetor heat while attempting to determine if there was ice accumulating in the carburetor throat. Factors include flight in conditions conducive to carburetor icing, and a fence running across the field in which the forced landing took place.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While en route in conditions conducive to carburetor icing, the pilot noticed a reduction in the aircraft's exhaust gas temperature (EGT). Although he leaned the fuel mixture, this did not seem to increase the EGT to where he thought it should be. He therefore momentarily applied the carburetor heat and checked for a decrease in engine rpm, as is the proper procedure in an aircraft equipped with a fixed-pitch propeller. But since this aircraft was equipped with a constant-speed propeller, he should have checked for a drop in manifold pressure, which he did not do. Soon thereafter, the engine lost all power and the pilot descended to a forced landing in a soft wet field. Although the intentional gear-up touch-down was uneventful, as the aircraft slid across the field, it encountered a barbed wire fence. In a telephone interview after the accident, the pilot stated that he had been unaware that the proper procedure to use in checking for the accumulation of carburetor icing with a constant-speed propeller was to check manifold pressure drop. He was also not aware that as ice accumulated in the carburetor throat, resulting in a gradual reduction of power, that the propeller governor would keep the rpm constant as long as it was able to flatten the pitch of the propeller. He was also unaware that a drop in EGT may also be an indication of ice accumulating in the carburetor throat.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.