Keuthan BUCCANEER II N43310

Summary

On 24 April 2020 at about 15:45 local time, a Keuthan BUCCANEER II registered N43310 was involved in an accident near Coden, Alabama, United States. One person was 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

24 April 2020 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Coden, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

30.3769, -88.1575

Aircraft

Keuthan BUCCANEER II

Registration

N43310

Category

Airplane

Year built

1994

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Foley → Foley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20LA161

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a carburetor heat system installed on the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot, who owned the airplane, was making a local personal flight from his private grass strip. During the first 1 hour 15-minute of flight, the engine performance was normal. Then, while about 800 ft above the ground (agl), the engine began to lose power and rpm started a slow continuous drop. The pilot moved the throttle to full power, but the engine continued to lose power. About 150 ft agl, the engine lost power completely and the pilot attempted to glide to a small island. About 25 ft agl, the right wing stalled and the airplane impacted power lines then terrain. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal engine operation, and the engine was run successfully at various power settings. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at glide (idle) engine power settings. The airplane was not equipped with carburetor heat, contrary to the engine’s installation manual, which stated "operation in climatic conditions, where carburetor icing is likely to occur, a heating system must be fitted."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.