- Date
- July 1, 1999, 16:06 local (22:06 UTC)
- Place
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6165BCessna 182A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 12, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990701008019A
- Case key
- 46699
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 total loss of engine power (nonmechanical) for reasons undetermined. Factors were the existence of conditions conducive to carburetor icing, and unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced landing.
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 had been receiving vectors for spacing around traffic. When he was finally cleared to land, he was higher than traffic pattern altitude, and he slipped the airplane to dissipate excess altitude. When he advanced the throttle, the engine did not respond. An off-airport forced landing ensued. The airplane collided with a curb, stop sign, bus sign, and fence. The engine was later functionally tested and operated satisfactorily. It was the opinion of an FAA aviation safety inspector that the power loss may have been due to the engine 'loading up.' At the time of the accident, the airport temperature and dew point were 33 degrees C. (91.4 degrees F.) and 9 degrees C. (48.2 degrees F.), respectively. According to the Carburetor Icing Probability Curve, light icing at glide and cruise power settings are possible under these conditions.
Factual narrative
On July 1, 1999, at 1606 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182A, N6165B, owned and operated by McCullough Engineering, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Salt Lake City, Utah. The private pilot, the only occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated in Loa, Utah, approximately 1430.
According to the pilot's accident report, he had been receiving vectors for spacing around traffic. When he was finally cleared to land, he was higher than traffic pattern altitude. He decided to slip the airplane to dissipate some of the excess altitude. At a point where he felt he was in the proper position to complete a normal landing, he ended the slip and advanced the throttle. The engine lost power and steps to restore power were unsuccessful. The pilot made an off-airport forced landing. The airplane struck the street curb which knocked off the nose landing gear, then collided with a stop sign, bus stop sign, and a fence, incurring extensive damage to the wings. The airplane then skidded to a halt.
On July 20, 1999, the engine was functionally tested under the direction of an FAA aviation safety inspector-maintenance. No discrepancies were noted. The inspector opined that the power loss may have been due to the engine "loading up" when power was applied after a prolonged period of idle power.
Shortly after the accident, at 1620, the temperature and dew point at Salt Lake City International Airport were 33 degrees C. (91.4 degrees F.) and 9 degrees C. (48.2 degrees F.), respectively.
According to the Carburetor Icing Curve, light icing at glide and cruise power settings are possible.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6165B
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34165
- Airframe hours
- 3,500
- Engine
- Continental O-470-L, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James R. Mccullough
- Registered owner
- Mccullough Engineering
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 30, 1999 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- 38U · Loa, UT
- Destination
- SLC
- Airport
- SLC · Salt Lake City Int'L, runway 32, 4,892 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 22
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 161 total · 145 in this make and model · 114 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.