# Accident 19980530011419A: Luscom 8E, Montague, MI, May 30, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 30, 1998, 09:30 local time
- Place: Montague, MI
- Airport: Private
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.4606° N, 86.3898° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.4606&lon=-86.3898&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1968K, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1968K) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Luscombe 8E (registry code 8190112, https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LUSCOM 8E
- Reported engine: CONT C8512F
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 467 total, 155 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA183](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA183) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980530011419A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ACFT ENGINE LOST POWER ON TAKEOFF AND THE ACFT CRASHED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO THE FIELD. (.4)THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS APPROXIMATELY 60' ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL) AFTER TAKEOFF WHEN THE ENGINE LOST POWER.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE PITCHED THE NOSE FORWARD AND ATTEMPTED TO TROUBLESHOOT THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.  THE PILOT STATED THAT THE ENGINE GAINED PARTIAL POWER, BUT THEN LOST ENGINE POWER AGAIN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.  THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK SOME TREE TOPS, APPROXIMATELY 50' AGL, AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY IMPACTED THE GROUND.  POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION OF THE AIRCRAFT SHOWED NO ANOMALIES WITH THE ENGINE, FUEL RELATED SYSTEMS, AND IGNITION SYSTEMS.  A WEATHER OBSERVATION, TAKEN FROM MUSKEGON COUNTY AIRPORT AT 0913, INDICATED THAT THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE WAS 64-DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AND THE DEW POINT TEMPERATURE WAS 54-DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.  ACCORDING TO THE TABLE 'CONDITIONS KNOWN FAVORABLE FOR CARBURETOR ICING,' THE ABOVE NOTED TEMPERATURES WERE FAVORABLE FOR MODERATE CARBURETOR ICING.                                                                         (-23) THE ENGINE LOST POWER INTERMITTENTLY SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF.  THE AIRC                                                      RAFT IMPACTED A TREE ADJACENT TO THE RUNWAY AS THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO REACH A PLOWED FIELD LOCATED ABEAM OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE WIND CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO DRIFT INTO THE TREE BEFORE HE COULD LAND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI98LA183](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA183), May 30, 1998: Luscombe 8E (N1968K), Montague, MI, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's improper use of carburetor heat which resulted in the formation of carburetor ice and the loss of engine power. Factors to the accident were the carburetor icing conditions and the trees.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.