Pilot Debrief

ENGINEERING & RESEARCH 415 C near Mt Morris, IL — 2016-07-16

Final reportCEN16LA299
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Date
2016-07-16
Location
Mt Morris, IL, USA
Airport
C55
Aircraft
ENGINEERING & RESEARCH 415 C
Registration
N99307
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of airplane control during a forced landing in gusting crosswind conditions and the airplane’s subsequent bounce on the runway following a loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a local personal flight, which was the airplane's first flight following its annual inspection. The pilot reported that, while on the downwind leg, he reduced power for landing and that the engine then lost power. During the subsequent forced landing, the airplane encountered a crosswind gust and then bounced twice, which caused substantial firewall damage. An examination of the carburetor revealed no anomalies. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of serious carburetor icing at descent power settings. It is likely that the engine power lost power due to carburetor icing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the flight after engine power loss during initial climb.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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