Piper PA-28-161 N20GG

Summary

On 24 February 2012 at about 20:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N20GG, operated by Skyways LTD, was involved in an accident near Rapid City, South Dakota, 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

24 February 2012 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Rapid City, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.0381, -102.8261

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N20GG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Skyways LTD

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rapid City → Huron

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12LA175

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power during climb due to carburetor icing. Contributing to the accident was the limited travel of the carburetor heat valve which prevented application of maximum carburetor heat.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instrument instructional flight, the airplane encountered clouds as it climbed through about 4,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and subsequently experienced a partial loss of engine power as it climbed through about 6,500 feet msl in conditions that were conductive to serious carburetor icing conditions. The flight instructor turned on the carburetor heat at the onset of the power loss, which resulted in an additional loss of engine power and a rough-running engine. The flight instructor subsequently turned off the carburetor heat because the airplane was unable to maintain altitude to return to the departure airport. The engine then experienced a total loss of power, and the pilot performed a forced landing. No engine anomalies were noted during a postaccident engine run; however, the carburetor heat valve only moved about 3/4 of its travel, so maximum carburetor heat was not available. The flight instructor stated that he and the pilot receiving instruction reviewed the weather conditions as part of their preflight planning and determined that the weather was satisfactory for the intended flight. The instructor further stated that the carburetor heat appeared to be functioning during the pretakeoff engine run-up. The weather conditions encountered during the climb in the clouds were conducive to serious carburetor icing at cruise climb power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.