Cessna 120 N3886V

Summary

On 13 July 2019 at about 15:45 local time, a Cessna 120 registered N3886V was involved in an accident near Summit, South Carolina, 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

13 July 2019 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Summit, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

The Farm Airport (24SC)

Coordinates

33.9358, -81.4308

Aircraft

Cessna 120

Registration

N3886V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Summit → Summit

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19LA226

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power during initial climb due to carburetor ice formation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a 30-minute local flight, the pilot returned to the departure airport to conduct touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. While descending toward the airport, he applied carburetor heat when the engine power was below 1,200 rpm, and intermittently applied power during the descent. After touching down, the pilot applied throttle to take off, and about 40 to 50 ft above ground level, the engine lost total power. He slipped the airplane to land on the remaining runway, then applied brakes to prevent a runway overrun. The airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage. Examination of the engine revealed minor discrepancies and mis-timed magnetos that likely existed during the initial takeoff, but would not have caused the reported loss of engine power. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of carburetor icing at glide (idle) and cruise engine power settings. Thus, it is likely that, during the descent and approach when carburetor heat was applied only when operating at a reduced power setting, carburetor ice formed, which subsequently resulted in a total loss of engine power during the initial climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.