Piper PA-16 N5945H

Summary

On 5 February 2011 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-16 registered N5945H was involved in an accident near Lake Koshkonong, Wisconsin, United States. 2 people were on board and one 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

5 February 2011 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Koshkonong, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

42.8881, -88.9572

Aircraft

Piper PA-16

Registration

N5945H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palmyra → Palmyra

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11LA177

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons during a low-altitude pass over a frozen lake.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a local flight, the pilot decided to overfly a frozen lake at low altitude. He reduced engine power to idle and the airplane descended to about 10 feet above the lake. The pilot attempted to arrest the descent with an increase of engine power; however, advancing the engine throttle did not result in an increase in engine power. A forced landing was immediately performed on the frozen lake. The airplane encountered an area of deep snow during touchdown and subsequently nosed over, damaging the vertical stabilizer, rudder, right wing, fuselage, and engine firewall. A postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any preimpact anomalies or failures that would have prevented its normal operation. A postaccident engine run was not performed due to the observed airframe and propeller damage. Although the pilot reported that he did not apply carburetor heat during the airplane's descent to the lake, a review of a carburetor icing probability chart and the weather at the time of the accident revealed that the conditions were not conducive to the accretion of carburetor ice. Local law enforcement reported that upon their arrival at the accident site there was ample fuel found within the airplane's fuel tanks.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.