CEN13LA015

NTSB accident investigation · Young Robert Herman Woody Pusher · Cloverdale, IN · October 16, 2012

Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
October 16, 2012, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
Place
Cloverdale, IN
Injuries
1 serious
Damage
Minor damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N10RYYoung Robert Herman Woody Pusher
Defining event
Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 24, 2014
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
FAA - Indianapolis FSDO
FAA report
20121016023899A
Case key
85365

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 total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

Findings · 1

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Temp/humidity/pressure: conducive to carburetor icingEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on equipmentYoung Robert Herman WOODY PUSHER: 1 caseAll aircraft: 435 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

While in cruise flight, the amateur-built airplane's engine experienced a total loss of power and the pilot executed a forced landing to a field. During the landing the airplane nosed over and the pilot was seriously injured. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The recorded temperature and dew point at the time of the accident were conducive for the formation of moderate carburetor icing at cruise power.

Factual narrative

On October 16, 2012, about 1430 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Young Woody Pusher, N10RY, sustained minor damage during a forced landing to a field following a loss of engine power near Cloverdale, Indiana. The pilot received serious injuries during the event. The aircraft was registered to and operated by an individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from a private airstrip in Cloverdale, Indiana, about 1425. The airplane was in cruise flight about 800 feet above ground level when the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot selected a field and performed a forced landing. During the landing, the tailwheel equipped airplane nosed over and came to rest on it's back. The airplane was an experimental amateur-built design that employed a single strut braced wing. The engine was mounted in a pusher configuration on the wing with the pilot station at the front of the fuselage. The engine used on the airplane was a Continental Motors C-85 engine. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A weather reporting station located about 23 miles south of the accident site recorded the temperature and dew point about the time of the accident as 19 and 6 degrees Celsius, respectively. According to a carburetor icing probability chart the conditions were conducive for moderate carburetor icing at cruise power settings and serious carburetor icing at glide power settings.

Aircraft

Registration
N10RY
Reported as
Young Robert Herman Woody Pusher
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
3
Airframe hours
489
Engine
Cont Motor C-75, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Minor damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection
Condition · October 6, 2012
Departed
PVT · Cloverdale, IN
Destination
PVT · Cloverdale, IN

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
90
Injuries
Serious
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Sport pilot
Seat
Front

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
180° at 10 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
66 °F, dew point 43 °F
Altimeter
29.84 inHg
Observed at
BMG, 23 nm away

Docket · 3

The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 6, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 368 KB 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.