Piper PA-18-150 N8899Y

Summary

On 7 May 2013 at about 21:45 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N8899Y, operated by Westcott Brett M, was involved in an accident near Palmer, Alaska, 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

7 May 2013 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Palmer, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.9500, -149.2167

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N8899Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Westcott Brett M

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wasilla → Wasilla

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC13CA044

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to use continuous carburetor heat while operating in conditions conducive to carburetor icing, which resulted in the development of carburetor ice and a subsequent partial loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while in level cruise flight, the engine began to run rough and lost power. Unable to restore full engine power, the pilot selected an area of snow-covered terrain as a forced landing site. During the landing, as the main wheels contacted deep snow, the airplane nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the right wing lift strut. The pilot reported that he applied carburetor heat after the initial loss of engine power and that the engine was only able to maintain 1,100 rpm. About the time of the accident, a weather observation station located about 25 miles northwest of the accident site reported the temperature at 45 degrees F and dew point at 41 degrees F. According to a carburetor icing probability chart, the airplane was susceptible to icing at both cruise and climb power. The pilot did not report and a postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a mechanical malfunction. It is likely that the loss of engine power was due to carburetor icing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.