Cessna 172P N881AV

Summary

On 10 June 2017 at about 14:50 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N881AV, operated by Aircraft Development Flight Airways, was involved in an accident near Tamiami, Florida, 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

10 June 2017 at 14:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Tamiami, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Miami Executive (TMB)

Coordinates

25.6475, -80.4333

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N881AV

Category

Airplane

Year built

1983

Engines

1

Operator

Aircraft Development Flight Airways

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tamiami → Tamiami

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA202

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power during the initial climb due to carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following an uneventful preflight inspection of the airplane, the student pilot and the flight instructor taxied and then began their runup checks of the engine. The flight instructor stated that during the runup he noted a “normal” drop in engine rpm when they tested the carburetor heat, both with power on the engine and with the throttle pulled back to idle. The subsequent takeoff takeoff was normal, but at about 350 ft above the ground, the flight instructor heard a slight decrease in engine power; he asked the student pilot if he was guarding the throttle, and he responded that he was. The power then came back. Then, at about 400 ft above the ground, the engine lost power again. The flight instructor stated that this time it was significant, as it dropped to 1,900 rpm and was fluctuating. The flight instructor then took the controls of the airplane, after which the power dropped to 1,100 rpm and continued to fluctuate. There was no available runway remaining and the airplane was losing altitude, so the flight instructor landed the airplane in a grass field on the airport property. He stated that on touchdown, he had very poor braking capability (likely due to the wet grass). The airplane struck a tree with the left wing, then struck the airport fence and substantially damaged the airplane’s wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed an adequate supply of uncontaminated fuel. Test runs of the engine were performed, during which the engine ran without hesitation and displayed no evidence of preimpact failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Review of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that the atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of carburetor ice. Given this information, it is likely that while operating the airplane on the ground prior to takeoff, a period during which the engine would typically be operating at low power, carburetor ice began forming, which continued until the engine began losing engine power during the initial climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.