Cessna 172I N35571

Summary

On 19 January 2012 at about 20:55 local time, a Cessna 172I registered N35571 was involved in an accident near Springfield, Tennessee, United States. One person was 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

19 January 2012 at 20:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Springfield, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

36.4336, -86.8981

Aircraft

Cessna 172I

Registration

N35571

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Danville → Nashville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA148

Nobody was injured.

The pilot did not apply carburetor heat during approach to landing, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying the airplane on the second leg of a visual flight rules cross-country trip, which he flew at an altitude of 3,500 feet in order to remain below an overcast ceiling. Approaching the destination airport, the pilot began a cruise descent and, about 10 miles from the airport, began configuring the airplane for landing. The pilot reduced engine power to about 1,500 rpm, set the mixture to full rich, but did not activate the carburetor heat. The engine then lost power, and the pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the nose landing gear struck a ditch. Responders noted that fuel was recovered from the airplane following the accident; the engine was run after the accident with no anomalies noted. The temperature and dew point reported on the surface at an airport located about 21 nautical miles from the accident site were conducive to carburetor icing at both glide and cruise power settings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.