Cessna 182A N6061B

Summary

On 9 February 2014 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N6061B, operated by Austin Skydiving Center Inc, was involved in an accident near Lexington, Texas, 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

9 February 2014 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lexington, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Lexington Airfield (TE75)

Coordinates

30.4142, -96.9656

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N6061B

Category

Airplane

Year built

1957

Engines

1

Operator

Austin Skydiving Center Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lexington → Lexington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA133

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper use of the carburetor heat, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due 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, during the descent, he applied carburetor heat but that he then removed carburetor heat when leveling off. The pilot reduced the throttle to slow the airplane while on final approach. When he advanced the throttle to maintain airspeed, the engine power did not increase; the pilot was unable to restore full engine power. The engine subsequently lost all power when the pilot applied carburetor heat. During the forced landing to a field, the nose landing gear and propeller contacted a barbed wire fence, and the airplane then nosed down, impacted the ground, and nosed over. A postaccident examination revealed no mechanical failures that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at glide power. It is likely that carburetor ice developed after the pilot reduced the engine power/closed the throttle while in the traffic pattern without applying carburetor heat, which resulted in a loss of engine power. The manufacturer's before landing checklist states to apply carburetor heat before closing the throttle.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.