Beechcraft 76 N6697L

Summary

On 11 March 2012 at about 03:25 local time, a Beechcraft 76 registered N6697L was involved in an accident near Rio Linda, California, United States. 3 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

11 March 2012 at 03:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Rio Linda, California, United States

Coordinates

38.6950, -121.4697

Aircraft

Beechcraft 76

Registration

N6697L

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Visalia → Sacramento

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR12LA128

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to carburetor icing, and the pilot's failure to use carburetor heat during descent while operating in an area conducive to carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he began his descent from 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl) by lowering the landing gear and reducing the power on both engines. When the airplane reached an altitude of about 1,200 feet msl, the left engine lost power. The pilot was about to feather the left propeller when engine power was momentarily restored followed by both engines losing power. He selected a “dark space” on the ground and performed a forced landing. During the landing, the airplane collided with a ditch and a fence. Postaccident examination of the engines revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. About the time of the accident, a weather station about 4 nautical miles from the accident site reported a temperature of 52 degrees F and dew point of 45 degrees F. These weather conditions were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at cruise and glide power settings. The pilot did not report applying carburetor heat when he initiated the descent, during descent, or following the loss of engine power. Additionally, the pilot stated that he believed carburetor icing caused both engines to lose power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.