- Date
- October 22, 1994, 10:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Cross Plains, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7969UCessna 172F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941022035709A
- Case key
- 9786
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 pilot's failure to use carburetor heat. Factors were carburetor icing conditions and rough/uneven 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
The pilot stated that he was cruising at 5,000 MSL and reduced the engine RPM to between 1,000 and 1,200 during a descent to 2,000 MSL. When he attempted to level off with power the engine did not respond. He made a forced landing in a rough/uneven field. He told an inspector from the FAA that he pumped the throttle and moved the mixture to rich, but he did not use the carburetor heat. A weather reporting station ten miles east of the accident site was reporting a temperature of 60 degrees (f) and a dew point of 51 degrees (f), at the time of the accident. Conditions were conducive to carburetor icing.
Factual narrative
On October 22, 1994, at 1040 central daylight time, a Cessna 172F, N7969U, registered to Daniel F. Meger of Waterford, Wisconsin, and operated by a private pilot, lost engine power when the pilot attempted to level off after a descent. A forced landing in a field near Cross Plains, Wisconsin, resulted in substantial damage to the airplane when it nosed over. The pilot reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No fight plan was on file. The local flight departed Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 0930.
The pilot stated that he was cruising at 5,000 feet mean sea level (msl) and started a descent by reducing the power to 1,000 to 1,200 rpm. When he attempted to level off at 2,000 feet msl the engine did not respond. He told an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that he had pumped the throttle and adjusted the mixture to rich, but did not use the carburetor heat.
The nearest weather reporting station was at Madison, Wisconsin, ten miles east of the accident site. An observation five minutes prior to the accident showed the temperature to be 68 degrees (F) and the dew point as 51 degrees (F). An "Icing Probability Curves" chart from the Airmen's Information Manual is attached to this report.
Subsequent to the accident the airplane was inspected by the FAA and the engine was test run. A report of that inspection is attached to this report. No anomalies were noted and the engine functioned.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7969U
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17251969
- Airframe hours
- 4,100
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Schuning, Richard E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1994 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- UES · Waukesha, WI
- Destination
- UES
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 740 total · 60 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSN, 10 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.