Mormile Francis W AVENTURA II N932MC

Summary

On 9 July 2016 at about 18:53 local time, a Mormile Francis W AVENTURA II registered N932MC was involved in an accident near West Pittsfield, Maine, United States. One person was 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

9 July 2016 at 18:53

Classification

Accident

Location

West Pittsfield, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Grignons Field (ME62)

Coordinates

44.6947, -69.3821

Aircraft

Mormile Francis W AVENTURA II

Registration

N932MC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Pittsfield → West Pittsfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA247

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after a total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing, which accumulated because the carburetor heat was not functioning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot departed in his amateur-built airplane and planned to stay in the airport traffic pattern to conduct a functional test of the retractable landing gear. He stated that, as he was turning the airplane left to the final leg of the airport traffic pattern, he noticed that the controls were "very stiff" when he tried to roll the airplane level and needed two hands to move the control wheel. The airplane then began to descend. The pilot was unable to level the airplane, and during the continued descent, it collided with trees. After the accident, two witnesses told the pilot that the engine had stopped producing power before the airplane impacted the trees; however, the pilot said he was unaware that the engine had lost power. Postaccident examination of the flight controls revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the engine exhaust was positioned too close to fuel lines, which did not have heat shielding protection, and that a mandatory fuel return line was not installed, both of which could result in vapor lock to the engine. However, when the engine was test-run, it ran continuously for several minutes without hesitation. Given the successful engine test-run, it is unlikely that vapor lock caused the loss of engine power. Despite the noted deficiencies with the engine's installation, no preimpact mechanical functions or failures of the engine's powertrain were found that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airplane also revealed that the carburetor heat was not functional. Given that the atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing at glide engine power settings, the carburetor likely accumulated ice. If the engine lost total power due to the accumulation of carburetor ice and the pilot inadvertently allowed the airplane to slow, then the effectiveness of the airplane's flight controls would have been degraded and likely would have resulted in the loss of airplane control, as reported by the pilot. Therefore, it is likely that the carburetor accumulated ice because the carburetor heat was not functioning, which led to the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.