Cessna 180 N4601A

Summary

On 25 August 2009 at about 01:20 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N4601A, operated by Beam Douglas Jade, was involved in an accident near Chugiak, Alaska, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 August 2009 at 01:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Chugiak, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.4567, -149.3703

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N4601A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Beam Douglas Jade

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chugiak → Chugiak

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC09LA086

4 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s delayed use of carburetor heat while operating in conditions conducive to carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot reported that he was approaching his destination airport at the conclusion of a local personal flight. He said that while in cruise flight at 1,200 feet above ground level, the engine began to run rough and lose power. He noticed that the carburetor air temperature was just above the carburetor ice zone marked in red on the gauge, so he applied full carburetor heat, which was followed by a complete loss of engine power. Unable to restart the engine, he selected a marshy tree-covered site as a forced landing area. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings during the forced landing. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector’s postaccident inspection disclosed no evidence any preimpact mechanical problems. An aviation weather reporting station indicated that the temperature was 57 degrees F, and the dew point was 45 degrees F. When these values are entered into a carburetor icing probability chart, the results are in the "serious icing-cruise power" category. Given the lack of any mechanical anomalies it is likely that the formation of carburetor ice resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.