Pilot Debrief

GANJOO AMIT SONEX near Leesburg, VA — 2017-04-22

Final reportERA17LA165
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Date
2017-04-22
Location
Leesburg, VA, USA
Airport
JYO
Aircraft
GANJOO AMIT SONEX
Registration
N212AG
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat appropriately, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to the formation of carburetor ice.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot checked the weather conditions before departure for the personal flight, and he noted that it was drizzling but that the cloud/ceilings were "good." Once airborne, the weather conditions began to deteriorate, and the pilot chose to return to the airport. The pilot added that, while the airplane was on final approach to land at 700 ft above ground level (agl), the engine "just stopped." The pilot attempted to restart the engine to no avail, and he subsequently initiated a forced landing just short of the runway. The pilot said that the airplane "ran out of airspeed" when it was about 100 ft agl and that it then landed hard and slid about 100 ft before coming to a stop. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Weather conditions reported at the time of the accident were conducive for serious icing at cruise power. The pilot acknowledged that the weather conditions were conducive to carburetor icing but that he did not apply carburetor heat until he tried to restart the engine, and even then, that he did not use full carburetor heat. Therefore, it is likely that carburetor ice accumulated during the flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not apply carburetor heat until after engine failure occurred.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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