Otterback LIGHTNING N106AL

Summary

On 1 May 2019 at about 17:30 local time, a Otterback LIGHTNING registered N106AL was involved in an accident near Woodland, Washington, 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

1 May 2019 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Woodland, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Woodland State Airport (W27)

Coordinates

45.8925, -122.7356

Aircraft

Otterback LIGHTNING

Registration

N106AL

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Woodland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA132

Nobody was injured.

A complete loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after an uneventful flight in an experimental airplane he set up for landing. At about 1,200 feet he reduced the throttle to idle, turned on the carburetor heat, and entered the traffic pattern. After turning final, when the pilot began to reach for the throttle, the propeller stopped spinning. The engine had lost complete power, with no engine roughness or abnormal noises. Since the airplane was about 50 ft above the ground, the pilot continued to land onto the runway. The airplane bounced and when it touched back down, the airplane departed the left side of the runway. The pilot redirected the airplane back toward the runway surface, but the nose gear collapsed on the rough grass. The nearest weather reporting station indicated temperature 13°C, dewpoint 4°C. Review of the Carburetor Icing Probability Chart revealed that, given the temperature and dewpoint, the conditions were on the line between serious icing at glide power and serious icing at cruise power. During a telephone conversation the pilot reported that the carburetor heat system takes hot air from near the muffler to keep the carburetor from icing up. It is likely that the carburetor accumulated ice while in cruise flight and the carburetor heat, when applied when the pilot reduced the throttle to idle, was not sufficient to remove the carburetor ice which resulted in a loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.