Cessna 150L N18690

Summary

On 24 January 2013 at about 23:45 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N18690, operated by Andrew Hansen, was involved in an accident near Matlock, Washington, United States. One person was 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

24 January 2013 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Matlock, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Sanderson Field Airport (SHN)

Coordinates

47.4072, -123.6889

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N18690

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Andrew Hansen

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hoquiam → Bremerton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR13LA101

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power after a descent to a lower altitude due to the student pilot's delayed action in applying 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 student pilot reported that while he was on his first solo cross country flight, the weather started to deteriorate. He descended to a lower altitude and as he proceeded towards the nearest airport, he noticed that the vertical speed indicator indicated a descent of 700 feet per minute. The pilot applied full power and the airplane continued to descend. The pilot elected to land on a nearby road. During the descent he ensured that the throttle was at full power, the mixture was full rich, and the fuel selector was on both fuel tanks. While on a base leg, the pilot applied carburetor heat. When he turned final he observed that he was too high; he idled the power and slipped the airplane to lose altitude. During the landing flare the left wing struck a sign; the airplane departed the roadway and came to rest inverted about 20 feet from the roadway. A postaccident examination and run of the engine revealed no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Weather at the time of the accident reported a temperature of 4 degrees C, and a dewpoint of 4 degrees C. When graphed on the Carburetor Icing Probability Chart provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, these weather conditions were conducive for serious icing at cruise power. It is likely that the pilot's delayed action in applying carburetor heat resulted in a partial loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.