- Date
- April 4, 1991, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Yukon River, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2117ZCessna 180F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19910404009129A
- Case key
- 5534
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
A carburetor fuel leak due to inadequate annual inspection. Contributing to the accident was the snow covered terrain.
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
According to the pilot, during cruise flight, the engine began backfiring and would only produce idle power. He was forced to land on the frozen yokon River and the airplane nosed over. Subsequent examination of the airplane and engine revealed that the carburetor float bowl drain plug was not installed and could not be located. The airplane had received an annual inspection only 1.5 hours of flight time earlier.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2117Z
- Reported as
- Cessna 180F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18051217
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James E. Carner
- Registered owner
- James E. Carner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 8, 1991 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- RMP · Rampart, 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
- 62
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 40,000 total · 700 in this make and model · 28,000 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Temperature
- 19 °F
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB in all.
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 N2117Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.