- Date
- March 4, 1989, 22:29 local (Mar 5, 1989, 03:29 UTC)
- Place
- Blountville, TN
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N25524Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 29, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890304003029A
- Case key
- 7993
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
Carburetor ice. The pilot failed to apply carburetor heat in a timely and adequate manner. This failure resulted in the accumulation of ice to a point of failure of the engine which eliminated the heat necessary to remove the ice.
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 plt reported that about 10 minutes after takeoff, he was in cruise flt at 3,000 ft when his engine developed a miss and began to run rough. After emergency procedures which included applying carb heat, there was a slight improvement in engine performance. Shortly, the engine quit completely and the pilot was unable to return to the departure airport. During the forced landing attempt, the airplane collided with a utility pole and power line at or near stall speed. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. After recovery of the airplane, the engine was started and operated satisfactorily. The existing ambient atmospheric conditions were favorable for the formation of carburetor ice.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N25524
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15280715
- Airframe hours
- 4,884
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dominion Aerospace Corp.
- Registered owner
- Robert L. Martin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 6, 1989 · 43 hours before
- Departed
- TRI · Blountville, TN
- Destination
- 6A8 · Abingdon, VA
- Airport
- TRI · Tri-City Airport
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
- 31
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 417 total · 233 in this make and model · 267 as pilot in command · 72 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 60° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRI, 6 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.