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| NTSB Identification: MIA00LA162. The docket is stored in the (offline) NTSB Imaging System. |
| Accident occurred Thursday, May 18, 2000 at GAINESVILLE, GA |
| Aircraft: Cessna A150M, registration: N9834J |
| Injuries: 2 Uninjured |
| Event: 20001212X21076 Status: Final Report Approved On Friday, March 02, 2001 |
| NTSB Preliminary Narrative (6120.19A) |
| On May 18, 2000, about 1620 eastern daylight time, a Cessna A150M, N9843J, registered to a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR |
| Part 91 personal flight, crashed in a field in the vicinity of Gainesville, Georgia, following a reported loss of engine power. Visual meteorological |
| conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage and the private-rated pilot and a passenger were not |
| injured. The flight originated from Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 30 minutes before the accident. |
| According to the pilot, he and a friend were sightseeing in the Lake Lanier area at 3,500 feet msl, when they experienced a partial loss of |
| engine power. He completed the checklist items for "engine failure during flight", but lost all engine power, necessitating a forced landing to a |
| vacant field. The touchdown was harder than expected due to upsloping terrain in the direction of the landing. |
| According to the FAA inspector's report, the wreckage was transported to an engine overhaul facility where the Continental O-200A engine, |
| serial no. 253638-A-48, was removed from the airframe, N9834J, and operated with FAA oversight. The fuel used for the postcrash engine run |
| was the same fuel aboard at the time of the accident. The engine started smoothly and operated normally at various power settings with no |
| malfunctions. No evidence of any fluid leakage was noted. |
| Reference to carburetor icing probability charts reveals that an ambient temperature of 84 degrees F and a dew point temperature of 54 |
| degrees F, as reported by the Gainesville, Georgia, AFSS, for the time period of the accident would put the flight's probability within the region |
| labeled, " visible icing at cruise power" and also within the more restrictive region, "serious icing at glide power". A copy of the chart is included |
| as an attachment to this report. |
| NTSB Final Narrative (6120.4) |
| According to statements by the pilot and the passenger, at about 3,500 feet msl, while sightseeing in the Lake Lanier area, the engine lost |
| power, and attempts to identify and correct the problem were unsuccessful. The field selected for the forced landing revealed an upslope as |
| they got closer, and the landing touchdown tore off the nose landing gear, the left main wheel, and broke the fuselage behind the rear window. |
| A postcrash engine run, with FAA oversight, using the same fuel aboard at the time of the accident, revealed no engine abnormalities. Using the |
| temperature and dew point reported by the nearest flight service station for the time period of the accident, reference to carburetor icing |
| probability charts would put the flight's probability within the regions classified as, 'visible icing at cruise power', and also within the more |
| restricted, 'serious icing at glide power'. |
| NTSB Probable Cause Narrative |
| The pilot's failure to use proper soft field landing technique while attempting a forced landing to an open field following a loss of engine power |
| which resulted in a hard landing. Factors in the accident were weather conditions conducive to formation of carburetor icing, and the uphill slope |
| of the field chosen for the forced landing. |
| Occurrences and Sequence of Events |
| Occurrence: 1, LOSS OF ENGINE POWER(TOTAL) - NONMECHANICAL |
| Phase of Operation: CRUISE |
| Sequence of Events for Occurrence Number: 1 |
| 1 ( Factor ) WEATHER CONDITION / CARBURETOR ICING CONDITIONS / (0) |
| Occurrence: 2, FORCED LANDING |
| Phase of Operation: EMERGENCY DESCENT/LANDING |
| Sequence of Events for Occurrence Number: 2 |
| 2 (Finding) TERRAIN CONDITIONS / OPEN FIELD / (0) |
| 3 ( Factor ) TERRAIN CONDITIONS / UPHILL / (0) |
| Occurrence: 3, HARD LANDING |
| Phase of Operation: LANDING - FLARE/TOUCHDOWN |
| Sequence of Events for Occurrence Number: 3 |
| 4 ( Cause ) SOFT FIELD LANDING/PROCEDURE / IMPROPER / PILOT IN COMMAND |
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