Cessna 120 N1915N

Summary

On 19 March 2017 at about 14:55 local time, a Cessna 120 registered N1915N, operated by Aeronca Champ Club Inc, was involved in an accident near Columbia, Illinois, United States. 2 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

19 March 2017 at 14:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Columbia, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Sackman Field (H49)

Coordinates

38.4522, -90.2361

Aircraft

Cessna 120

Registration

N1915N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Aeronca Champ Club Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Columbia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA145

Nobody was injured.

The partial 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 flight instructor reported that the purpose of the flight was to complete a tail-wheel endorsement for the pilot. After about 1 hour of total flight time, while attempting to take off for the fourth full-length runway departure, the flight instructor realized that the engine was not producing enough power for a successful takeoff, so he took control of the airplane and began applying maximum braking; however, the airplane departed the runway end, collided with a ditch, and then nosed over. During postaccident examination of the airplane, no anomalies were found that would have precluded normal operation. Atmospheric conditions in the area were conducive to the formation of serious icing at cruise power. The flight instructor reported that he believed that carburetor icing led to the loss of engine power. He added that carburetor heat was applied before each landing but that it was turned off when they taxied for departure. Therefore, it is likely that carburetor ice accumulated during the taxi and that the carburetor heat was not on long enough to melt the ice before takeoff, which resulted in the partial loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.