- Date
- January 4, 2008, 15:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Whitmore Lake, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N85393American Champion 7AC
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080104833419A
- Case key
- 67387
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 partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons during cruise and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the precautionary landing. A factor was the snow-covered ground.
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.
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
The pilot encountered a partial loss of engine power during flight. The use of carburetor heat did not regain the lost power. The pilot performed a precautionary landing to a grass landing strip he had landed at before. The airplane nosed over in the snow upon landing. No pre-impact anomalies were detected. The local temperature and dew point was -2 degrees C and -9 degrees C respectively. The owner's recommendation was to "replace the metal tube with scat tube on carb heat side."
Factual narrative
The pilot encountered a partial loss of engine power during flight. The use of carburetor heat did not regain the lost power. The pilot performed a precautionary landing to a grass landing strip he had landed at before. The airplane nosed over in the snow upon landing. No pre-impact anomalies were detected. The local temperature and dew point was -2 degrees C and -9 degrees C respectively. The owner's recommendation was to "replace the metal tube with scat tube on carb heat side."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85393
- Reported as
- American Champion 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-4133
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Pilot
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 1D2 · Plymouth, MI
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 5,050 total · 125 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Observed at
- ARB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.