Cessna 152 N68776

Summary

On 10 December 1990 at about 14:20 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N68776, operated by Barr Air Patrol, Inc., was involved in an accident near Gilmer, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 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

10 December 1990 at 14:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Gilmer, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.7292, -94.9407

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N68776

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Barr Air Patrol, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Longview → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW91LA024

1 person had minor injuries.

A POWER LOSS DUE TO THE PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF CARBURETOR HEAT.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE MANEUVERING AT 700 FEET MSL WHILE ON A PIPELINE PATROL AERIAL OBSERVATION FLIGHT, WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED RUNNING ROUGH. THE PILOT APPLIED FULL CARBURETOR HEAT AS HE STARTED TO TURN TO AN OPEN FIELD. THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING AND THE PILOT ESTABLISHED AN EMERGENCY DESCENT TO AN OPEN PASTURE. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT ABLE TO CLEAR THE 20 TO 30 FEET TREES ADJACENT TO THE OPEN PASTURE AND THE UNSUCCESSFUL FORCED LANDING TERMINATED WITH THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AFTER IMPACTING THE TREES. THE PILOT TOLD THE FAA INSPECTOR THAT HE NORMALLY FLEW WITH THE CARBURETOR HEAT PARTIALLY OPEN. THE PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF CARBURETOR HEAT INDUCED THE FORMATION OF CARBURETOR ICE WHICH CAUSED THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.