ANC05LA053

The solo private pilot stated that prior to the 14 CFR Part 91, personal cross-country flight, he preheated the airplane engine prior to takeoff. During the takeoff roll the engine started running rough. The pilot said he applied carburetor heat and continued the takeoff because there was not enough runway left to stop. The engine lost all power about 5 miles south of the airport, and during the ensuing emergency forced landing, the left wing struck a tree. The airplane came to rest inverted in a creek. The pilot said there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane, but he suspected ice in a gas line, or restricted airflow to the carburetor from fresh snow, or possibly a stuck valve. The airplane sustained structural damage to the wings and fuselage during the accident.

On March 30, 2005, about 1000 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 140 airplane, N2204N, sustained substantial damage when it impacted trees during an emergency descent and landing, following a total loss of engine power about 5 miles south of the Denali National Park Airport, Denali National Park, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo private pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight departed the Denali National Park Airport about 1000.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on March 31, the park ranger who spoke with the pilot said the pilot told him the airplane started running rough during the takeoff roll. The pilot said he applied carburetor heat and continued the takeoff, and about 5 miles south of the airport the engine quit. The pilot said while attempting an emergency landing in a snow-covered meadow, the airplane's left wing struck a tree, and the airplane came to rest inverted in a creek.

In a written statement to the NTSB the pilot wrote that the airplane was preheated before the flight, and ran fine until three-quarters of the way down the runway. He said there was not enough runway remaining to stop, so he applied carburetor heat and continued. He said the engine would not produce more than 1200 rpm, and eventually quit. He wrote that he suspected ice in a gas line, or restricted airflow to the carburetor from fresh snow, or possibly a stuck valve.