Cessna 150G N3899J

Summary

On 10 September 2008 at about 14:30 local time, a Cessna 150G registered N3899J was involved in an accident near Urbana, Ohio, 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 September 2008 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Urbana, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Grimes Field Airport (KI74)

Coordinates

40.1325, -83.7536

Aircraft

Cessna 150G

Registration

N3899J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ashland → Urbana

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI08CA280

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. Contributing to the accident were environmental conditions conducive 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 as she approached the destination airport after a 1-hour cross-country flight, she reduced engine power to approximately 2,300 rpm in order to descend to traffic pattern altitude. During the downwind leg, she further reduced engine power to 2,000 rpm to slow the airplane to for the approach. As she initiated a turn to base leg, she made a final reduction of engine power and activated the carburetor heat. During the turn to base leg, the engine began to lose power. The loss of engine power was reported to be gradual, not instantaneous, occurring over a period of approximately 5 seconds. The engine did not respond to throttle and mixture control movements. The pilot stated that the loss of engine power occurred 700-800 feet above ground level while on base leg. She said that she was worried about stalling the airplane and established a descent to remain above stall speed. The airplane landed in a grassy area about 50 feet short of the runway. Shortly after touchdown the nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to an abrupt stop. The temperature and dew point in the vicinity of the accident site were 17 degrees and 12 degrees Celsius, respectively. Calculations using a carburator icing chart indicate the possibility of moderate carburetor icing at cruise power and serious icing at descent power under the indicated conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.