Cessna 172 N3985F

Summary

On 16 February 2005 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N3985F was involved in an accident near Montrose, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 February 2005 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Montrose, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

38.2664, -108.1775

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N3985F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bullhead City → Montrose

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN05LA058

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's improper in-flight planning during the descent which resulted in partial loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to select carburetor heat during the descent and unsuitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While descending near a mountain canyon area, the engine lost partial power and the pilot initiated an emergency landing into an area of trees. The pilot stated that the engine had lost approximately seventy-five percent of its power and that he was too far into a canyon to reverse course. He then attempted an emergency landing into an area of trees, and subsequently, the airplane stalled and impacted the snow covered terrain. In addition, the pilot stated that "the aircraft did not have a lot of power to begin with and he has had icing problems in the past...he [believed] that icing is what caused his loss of power." According to the "Carburetor Icing Probability Chart," the atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to "Serious Icing at Cruise Power." A review of the wreckage revealed the carburetor heat was found in the OFF position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.