Pilot Debrief

American Aviation Corp. (AAC) AA-1A near Alabaster, AL — 2008-04-06

Final reportNYC08CA154
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Date
2008-04-06
Location
Alabaster, AL, USA
Airport
EET
Aircraft
American Aviation Corp. (AAC) AA-1A
Registration
N7UX
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to utilize carburetor heat during a power off approach.

NTSB narrative

Prior to the accident, the flight instructor and student practiced "turns around a point," and "S-turns across a road" before returning to the airport to practice landings. They then completed three "touch and goes," in the American Aviation AA-1A without incident. During the downwind leg of the traffic pattern for the fourth "touch and go," the flight instructor demonstrated an "engine out procedure" by bringing the throttle to idle when the airplane was approximately midfield. He did not however, use carburetor heat and kept the throttle at idle all of the way to touchdown. After touchdown, he applied power, then rotated, and the engine "quit." There was not "enough runway left to stop," and the airplane overran the runway. The airplane struck a ditch, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over, damaging the vertical stabilizer and canopy. The airplane had been filled with automobile gasoline prior to the flight. Both the student and flight instructor stated that there had not been any mechanical problems with the airplane and a post accident examination of the engine revealed no preimpact malfunctions. A review of a carburetor-icing chart revealed that atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to "serious icing at glide power."

NTSB coding

View NTSB final report

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