# NTSB CEN18LA370: Cubcrafters CC11-160, N71BN, Lancaster, OH, August 31, 2018 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 31, 2018, 13:45 local (17:45 UTC) - Place: Lancaster, OH - Coordinates: 39.755554, -82.657218 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7556&lon=-82.6572&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-descent: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 6, 2019 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA - CMH FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 98249 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN18LA370 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/98249/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98249 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA370 ## Probable cause The delayed application of carburetor heat by the pilot which led to accumulation of carburetor ice, eventual loss of engine power, and the subsequent forced landing in high vegetation. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: delayed action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cubcrafters CC11-160, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md?model=060006N), [All aircraft, 894 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md) - [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: [Cubcrafters CC11-160, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md?model=060006N), [All aircraft, 435 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-descent: Fuel related](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190) (defining event); cases with it: [Cubcrafters CC11-160, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md?model=060006N), [All aircraft, 361 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/190/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Cubcrafters CC11-160, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=060006N), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Cubcrafters CC11-160, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=060006N), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that while descending from cruise flight to traffic pattern altitude, the airplane's engine began to run rough. He applied carburetor heat which made the roughness worse and when he then turned off carburetor heat, the engine lost all power. The pilot executed a forced landing to a farm field where the airplane nosed over in the high vegetation. According to a carburetor icing probability chart, the temperature and dew point were in the range of susceptibility for serious carburetor icing at descent power settings. The pilot's report of the accident listed no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane, and a recommendation to apply carburetor heat earlier at the beginning of the descent. Based on the information available the airplane's engine likely lost power due to accumulation of carburetor ice due to the delayed application of carburetor heat. ## Factual narrative On August 31, 2018, about 1345 eastern daylight time, a Cubcrafters CC11-160 airplane, N71BN, sustained substantial damage to the left-wing strut when it nosed-over during a forced landing to a soybean field following a complete loss of engine power. The airplane was descending to land at the Fairfield County Airport (LHQ), near Lancaster, Ohio. The pilot was not injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The flight originated from The Duchy Airport (5NC5), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, about 1045, and was destined for LHQ. The pilot reported that while descending from cruise flight to traffic pattern altitude, the airplane's engine began to run rough. The pilot applied carburetor heat which made the roughness very bad and he turned the carburetor heat off. When he did this, the engine lost all power. The airplane's altitude was about 2,000 ft. msl (1,200 ft. agl), and the pilot performed an off-airport landing to a farm field. During the landing, the airplane nosed over in the waist-high vegetation. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane, and noted earlier use of carburetor heat at the beginning of the descent as an operator recommendation. The weather conditions at LHQ about the time of the accident included a recorded temperature of 28° C and a dew point of 21° C. According to a carburetor icing probability chart, this was in the range of susceptibility for serious icing during descent power settings. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N71BN](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N71BN), registered now, S/N CC11-00107, built 2009 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CUBCRAFTERS CC11-160 - Registry model: [Cubcrafters CC11-160](https://openairdocs.org/model/cubcrafters-cc11-160) (registry code 060006N) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Cubcrafter CC340](https://openairdocs.org/engine/cubcrafter-cc340) (registry code 18050, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: CC11-00107 - Year built: 2009 - Airframe hours: 943 - Engines: Cub Crafters CC340 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental light sport (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, September 20, 2017, 36 hours before - Departed: 5NC5, Chapel Hill, NC - Destination: LHQ, Lancaster, OH - Airport: LHQ, Fairfield County - Equipment: Stall warning system, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 65; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 20,948 total, 38 in this make and model, 15,406 as pilot in command, 109 in the last 90 days, 42 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: LHQ, 3 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 20180831016119A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180831016119A), Aug 31, 2018: Cubcrafters Inc CC11-160, Carroll, OH, Substantial damage. On aug 31, 2018, aircraft N71BN was on VFR final 5 miles for klhq left down wind runway 28. At 3 miles south of klhq altitude 1700 feet experienced engine… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 11, 2019, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98249. 1.4 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40470293&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Carb Ice Chart (item 2, .PDF, 156 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40470294&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Carb%20Ice%20Chart-Master.PDF - Weather Information (item 3, .PDF, 49 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40470295&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Information-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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.