Taylorcraft BC12 N94909

Summary

On 21 May 2018 at about 23:10 local time, a Taylorcraft BC12 registered N94909 was involved in an accident near Commerce, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 May 2018 at 23:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Commerce, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Private (N/A)

Coordinates

34.1533, -83.3683

Aircraft

Taylorcraft BC12

Registration

N94909

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Commerce → Commerce

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18FA149

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to effectively mitigate an accumulation of carburetor ice, which resulted in an undetected partial loss of engine power and an aerodynamic stall during takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot departed on a visual flight rules local flight. A witness saw the pilot conduct a preflight inspection of the accident airplane and depart on a 10-minute flight. When the airplane returned to the airstrip to land, the witness heard the engine rpm "going up and down." After the airplane landed, the pilot began taxiing toward the hangar but then taxied back to the runway for another takeoff. The witness stated that the airplane reached an altitude between about 50 and 75 ft above the runway with the engine sputtering. At that time, the airplane seemed to slow and was just above the trees when the right wing and then the nose dropped, which was followed by an impact with trees. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The weather conditions near the accident site at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at descent engine power settings. Given that these conditions existed, and that the witness reported the engine rpm may have been fluctuating during the airplane's previous landing approach, it is likely that carburetor ice accumulated during the prior descent and possibly the taxi period that followed prior to the accident takeoff. The undetected partial loss of power during the accident takeoff ultimately led to an aerodynamic stall from which the pilot was unable to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.