Cessna E162 N70252

Summary

On 16 November 2018 at about 15:15 local time, a Cessna E162 registered N70252, operated by Lanier Flight Center, was involved in an accident near Franklin, North Carolina, 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

16 November 2018 at 15:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Franklin, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.1019, -83.3853

Aircraft

Cessna E162

Registration

N70252

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Lanier Flight Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gainesville → Franklin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19TA051

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's delay in applying carburetor heat, which resulted in a total loss of engine power during descent due to carburetor icing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot reported that, while conducting a personal, cross-country flight and while nearing the destination airport, he reduced the engine rpm from 2,350 to 2,200 and began a slow descent from a cruise altitude of 3,500 ft mean sea level (msl) to a traffic pattern altitude of 2,800 ft msl. He added that the carburetor heat was not on at that time, and that, about 2 minutes later, he noticed that the engine had lost all power without any roughness or sputtering. The pilot turned on the carburetor heat, positioned the mixture to full rich, and confirmed that the fuel shutoff valve was not engaged; however, the engine did not respond, so he subsequently conducted a forced landing to a field, during which the right wing struck a fence, and the airplane came to rest inverted.   Postaccident examination of the airplane and the engine revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation, and the engine was successfully test run. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at cruise power, and the Pilot's Operating Handbook Descent Checklist instructed pilots to apply carburetor heat, as required, during descent. Therefore, it is likely that carburetor ice accumulated during cruise flight and that the pilot applied the carburetor heat too late to melt the ice, which resulted in the loss of engine power. The pilot stated that he did not fully understand the potentially subtle nature of carburetor ice.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.