- Date
- August 6, 1995, 13:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Lowell, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1829KLuscombe 8E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950806023339A
- Case key
- 9992
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
a loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a factor.
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 reported using carburetor heat initially when he began a descent, but removed the heat prior to attempting to add power. When he attempted to add power the engine did not respond. He was unable to restore power, and made a forced landing in a crop field 300 feet west of the intended runway. The pilot stated he felt the power loss resulted from carburetor ice.
Factual narrative
On August 6, 1995, at 1315 central daylight time, a Luscombe 8E, N1829K, owned and operated by a private pilot sustained substantial damaged during a forced landing 300 feet west of the Lowell, Indiana airport, following the total loss of engine power. The pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The flight departed Morris, Illinois, at 1230.
The forced landing took place in a farm field planted with a bean crop.
The pilot told investigators that he thought that the engine power loss was due to carburetor ice.
No weather reporting station was close to the location of the accident reporting both temperature and dew point.
Subsequent to the accident an examination of the airplane failed to reveal any pre-existing anomalies in the engine or airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1829K
- Reported as
- Luscombe 8E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4556
- Airframe hours
- 2,211
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ortell, Wesley P.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 29, 1994 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- C09 · Morris, IL
- Destination
- C97
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 355 total · 338 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Observed at
- GYY, 25 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.
Other investigations on N1829K · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.