Aeronca O-58C N47503

Summary

On 3 February 2011 at about 17:45 local time, a Aeronca O-58C registered N47503, operated by Jeffrey B Wells, was involved in an accident near San Luis Obispo, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, 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

3 February 2011 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

San Luis Obispo, California, United States

Coordinates

35.3128, -120.6750

Aircraft

Aeronca O-58C

Registration

N47503

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jeffrey B Wells

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Paso Robles → Oceano

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11FA120

1 person died.

The pilot’s delay in using carburetor heat, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to an encounter with carburetor icing conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was in cruise flight at 3,500 feet mean sea level when the engine lost power. The pilot restarted the engine, and it ran for about 20 seconds before again losing power. He applied carburetor heat, but the cycle of losing power and restarting for a few seconds occurred several times. The pilot attempted to land in a field, but collided with trees at the edge of the field. There was no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction found during a postaccident examination of the airframe and engine. The meteorological conditions at the time of the accident were conductive to serious carburetor icing at cruise power. Although the pilot applied carburetor heat after the initial power loss, the engine likely did not run long enough to melt the ice and restore power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.