Cessna 172B N7832X

Summary

On 24 February 2021 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 172B registered N7832X was involved in an accident near Winchester, Virginia, 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

24 February 2021 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Winchester, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

39.1683, -78.3565

Aircraft

Cessna 172B

Registration

N7832X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1960

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Winchester → Westminster

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA137

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s delayed use of carburetor heat, which resulted in carburetor icing and a subsequent total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a delay while he waited for several other airplanes to land and take off, the pilot departed and was climbing to cruise altitude when the engine began to lose power. Shortly thereafter, the engine lost power completely. The pilot then attempted to restore engine power and did not activate the carburetor heat until after the power loss. He was able to briefly restart the engine, but it ultimately lost power again after a brief period of rough running. During the subsequent off-airport landing, the nose landing gear separated from the airplane and it nosed over, substantially damaging both wings and the vertical stabilizer. The engine was successfully test run following the accident, and no mechanical deficiencies were found that would have precluded normal operation. The temperature and dewpoint at the departure airport around the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of carburetor icing. It is likely that, during the delay while the pilot was waiting to depart, the carburetor began to accumulate ice, that the ice accumulation continued during the subsequent takeoff and climb, and that the engine slowly lost power throughout. Because the pilot did not activate the carburetor heat until after the engine had lost power completely, the carburetor heat was ineffective at restoring engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.