Piper PA28 N5646V

Summary

On 13 March 2018 at about 15:30 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N5646V, operated by Epix Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Chesapeake, Virginia, 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

13 March 2018 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesapeake, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Chesapeake Rgnl (CPK)

Coordinates

36.6656, -76.3206

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N5646V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Epix Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chesapeake → Chesapeake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA101

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to apply carburetor heat during the approach for a touch-and-go landing, which resulted in a total loss of engine power during the subsequent takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting touch-and-go landings; the airplane was about 200 ft above ground level after a takeoff when the engine lost total power. The pilot cycled the throttle during the straight-ahead descent, which restored power momentarily before the forced landing. During the ground roll, the nose landing gear separated, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident test run of the engine using the fuel available in the airplane’s tanks and the intact fuel system revealed that the engine operated normally with no anomalies noted. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at descent engine power settings. The pilot stated that he had not activated the carburetor heat at any point during the flight. Because the engine operated normally after the accident, the weather conditions were conducive to the formation of carburetor icing, and the pilot failed to use carburetor heat during the approach, it is likely that the engine lost power due to the accumulation of carburetor ice before and during the takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.