Crawford PRECEPTOR ULTRA PUP N1171Q

Summary

On 17 May 2014 at about 18:45 local time, a Crawford PRECEPTOR ULTRA PUP registered N1171Q was involved in an accident near Mabel, Minnesota, United States. One person was 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

17 May 2014 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Mabel, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

43.5228, -91.7700

Aircraft

Crawford PRECEPTOR ULTRA PUP

Registration

N1171Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1997

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caledonia → Mitchell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA244

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power as a result of carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had recently purchased an airplane and was ferrying it to his home airport. During the first leg of the trip, he reported that the engine's rpm decreased two or three times from 3,200 to 2,800 rpm. The engine regained power shortly after the pilot applied carburetor heat. Shortly after departure on the second leg of the trip, the pilot felt a vibration in the engine, so he applied carburetor heat; however, the engine lost power and the airplane collided with trees in a wooded area. An examination of the engine did not reveal a reason for the power loss. A review of the carburetor icing probability chart indicated that the airplane was operating in an area that was associated with a risk of carburetor icing at glide power settings and light carburetor icing at cruise power. Because the airplane was being operated in an area of potential carburetor icing, and no anomalies could be found during postaccident testing, the engine likely lost power due to carburetor icing. However, the investigation was not able to determine that earlier application of carburetor heat would have prevented the loss of power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.