- Date
- March 16, 1989, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4433NAeronca 15AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890316004419A
- Case key
- 5173
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's inproper use of carburetor heat and the instructors failure to properly supervise the student actions within the airplane.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight instructor stated that during cruise flight the engine began to run rough and subsequently quit. Emerg procedures were followed and the eng regained power. The throttle was reduced to 2000 RPM in order to allow for extra time to figure out what failed. With the throttle reduced, the engine quite once again. The CFI applied carb heat and the student subsequently removed carb heat. This happened several times with subsequent losses and gains in power. The power eventually could not be regained and a forced landing was made on a frozen swamp area which was covered by 2 1/2 feet of snow. The acft nosed over during the landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4433N
- Reported as
- Aeronca 15AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15AC322
- Engine
- Continental O-300, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Clester Graham
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HRR · Healy, AK
- Destination
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 28
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 560 total · 15 in this make and model · 450 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 19 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4433N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.