Van's RV4 N924WZ

Summary

On 7 August 2016 at about 22:09 local time, a Van's RV4 registered N924WZ was involved in an accident near Shelbyville, Kentucky, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 August 2016 at 22:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Shelbyville, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Miles Field (3KY9)

Coordinates

38.1228, -85.1258

Aircraft

Van's RV4

Registration

N924WZ

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Frankfort → Shelbyville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA281

1 person was seriously injured.

The partial loss of engine power due to carburetor icing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to effectively use carburetor heat.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following several uneventful touch-and-go-landings, the private pilot refueled the airplane and returned to his home airport. During the approach for landing, the pilot saw wildlife on the runway, so he conducted a low pass over the runway; however, when he applied full throttle to climb, the engine did not produce full power. The pilot continued to climb the airplane with the intention of staying in the airport traffic pattern and making a full stop landing. Continuing through the pattern, he applied carburetor heat, then turned it off again. The airplane began sinking fast on final approach and impacted terrain short of the runway, resulting in substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power settings. After observing the loss of engine power during the climb out from the low approach, the pilot applied carburetor heat briefly, then, due to low altitude and sink rate, he turned off the carburetor heat to reduce the loss of power. It is likely that the carburetor accumulated ice during the low approach, which resulted in the observed partial loss of engine power, and the brief application of carburetor heat was insufficient to clear the ice from the carburetor and restore engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.