# NTSB ANC15LA046: Cessna 182, N4861D, Anchorage, AK, July 5, 2015

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: July 4, 2015, 19:43 local (Jul 5, 2015, 03:43 UTC)
- Place: Anchorage, AK
- Coordinates: 61.07722, -149.830001 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.0772&lon=-149.8300&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 3 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report September 14, 2016
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- Parties: FAA
- SAIBs cited in the narratives: [SAIB CE-09-35](https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-09-35) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB case key (mKey): 91498
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC15LA046
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/91498/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91498
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15LA046

## Probable cause

The total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing, which resulted from the pilot’s failure to use carburetor heat.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Temp/humidity/pressure: conducive to carburetor icing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 182A, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md?model=2072704), [All aircraft, 435 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md)
- [Ice/rain protection system: intake anti-ice, deice](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023020): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Not used/operated (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 182A, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023020/cases.md?model=2072704), [All aircraft, 108 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023020/cases.md)
- [Action: lack of action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 182A, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md?model=2072704), [All aircraft, 792 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 182A, 34 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2072704), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)
- [Enroute: Fuel starvation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 182A, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md?model=2072704), [All aircraft, 733 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/191/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that he was flying the airplane over an inland waterway when the engine began surging. The pilot switched fuel tanks, but the engine continued to surge and then lost total power. The pilot subsequently executed a forced landing on a highway, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing. After the accident, the pilot and a mechanic started the airplane, and the engine ran smoothly at various power settings. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of serious carburetor icing at glide power and moderate icing at cruise power. Therefore, it is likely that carburetor ice formed, which caused the engine to lose power, and that the pilot did not apply carburetor heat.

## Factual narrative

On July 4, 2014 about 1943 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 182 airplane, N4861D, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing on a highway about 8 nautical miles south of Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that originated from Seward Airport, Seward, Alaska. In a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, the pilot stated that while flying across the Turnagain Arm, an inland waterway, the engine began surging. He switched from the right fuel tank to the left fuel tank, but the engine continued to surge and was followed by a complete loss of engine power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a highway, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing. Following the accident the aircraft was moved off the highway to a parking lot where the pilot and a mechanic started the engine; it ran smoothly at various power settings. About 15 gallons of fuel was drained from the main fuel tanks before the wings were removed. No damage to the fuel lines were noted during the removal of the wings. Examination of the wing tanks did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded fuel from reaching the engine. The closest weather reporting facility was the Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, about 8 miles north of the accident site. At 1953, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Kenai Airport was reporting in part: wind from 300 degrees at 3 knots; sky condition overcast 7,000 feet; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 63 degrees F; dew point 52 degrees F; barometric pressure 30.17 inHg. The carburetor icing probability chart included in Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin No. CE-09-35, Carburetor Icing Prevention, indicated that the airplane was operating in an area that was associated with a risk of carburetor ice formation, at glide and cruise power settings. The pilot did not complete the NTSB form 6120 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report as requested.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N4861D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4861D), registered now, S/N 34961, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 182
- Registry model: [Cessna 182A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182a) (registry code 2072704) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 34961
- Year built: 1958
- Engines: CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Departed: SWT, Seward, AK
- Destination: MRI, Anchorage, AK
- Flight plan: Unknown

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 59; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 7,000 ft overcast
- Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observed at: PAMR, 8 nm away

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20150704013379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150704013379A), Jul 4, 2015: Cessna 182A, Anchorage, AK, Substantial damage. Aircraft lost power and made emergency landing on the seward hiway mile post 116.5

## Other investigations on N4861D (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 ANC04LA048](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA048), Apr 26, 2004: Cessna 182A (N4861D), Skwentna, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing site, which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll.

## Docket (1 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 15, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91498. 52 KB in all.

- Pilot's Statement (item 1, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442363&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%27s%20Statement-Master.PDF

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.

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