Cessna 140 N89884

Summary

On 27 December 2025 at about 17:49 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N89884, operated by Valiair LC Trustee, was involved in an accident near Ceres, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

27 December 2025 at 17:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Ceres, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

37.0164, -81.3439

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N89884

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Valiair LC Trustee

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blountville → Bridgewater

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA26LA079

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to recognize and mitigate carburetor icing, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power and forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, while enroute, the engine rpm began to decrease. The pilot began to troubleshoot the partial loss of engine power by verifying the cockpit switches were in the correct position, verifying the fuel selector position, switching between the magnetos, and applying carburetor heat, but the engine power did not return. The airplane was unable to maintain altitude, so the pilot made a forced landing into a field, during which the airplane collided with a tree. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. Following the accident, the pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and stated that the partial loss of engine power the airplane experienced on the accident flight was likely the result of carburetor icing. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious icing at glide engine power settings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.