Cessna 182 N5318B

Summary

On 17 April 2010 at about 02:06 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N5318B, operated by Joe Kennington, was involved in an accident near El Cajon, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

17 April 2010 at 02:06

Classification

Accident

Location

El Cajon, California, United States

Nearest airport

Gillespie Field (SEE)

Coordinates

32.8100, -116.9700

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N5318B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Joe Kennington

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Cajon → El Cajon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA209

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's delayed use of carburetor heat while operating in 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 he flew around the local area and was going to orbit his parent’s house before heading inbound for landing. He stated that he applied carburetor heat for the descent to 2,000 feet for his orbit. During the second orbit, he heard and felt the engine sputter, and then go to idle. He immediately leveled the wings, turned the airplane toward the airport, exercised the throttle, and reported to an air traffic controller that he was inbound for landing. When he did not get the expected engine rpm, he again applied carburetor heat. He slowed the airplane to the best glide speed, and again exercised the throttle. A rise in manifold pressure was noted, but not rpm, when he increased the throttle. After determining that he could not make the airport, he decided to land on a city street. He tried to avoid power lines and telephone cables in his flight path, but was unsuccessful. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground at a 35-degree nose down angle, skidded to a stop, and caught fire shortly thereafter. During a postaccident inspection of the engine, no anomalies were noted that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that he completed a thorough preflight. The airplane had more than 1/2 tank of fuel in the left wing, and just over 1/4 tank of fuel in the right wing. The fuel gauges agreed with the visual inspection. A graph in the Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) CE-09-35 illustrated that the conditions encountered in this accident were at the boundary of the areas for serious icing for both glide and cruise power. Given the lack of any mechanical anomalies it is likely that the formation of carburetor ice resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.