# NTSB ERA10LA494: Cessna 172D, N2483Y, Palm Beach, FL, September 18, 2010 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 18, 2010, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC) - Place: Palm Beach, FL - Coordinates: 26.720277, -80.033889 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.7203&lon=-80.0339&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 17, 2011 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 77367 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA10LA494 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/77367/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=77367 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10LA494 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat which led to a loss of engine power due to carburetor icing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [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: [All aircraft, 435 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03031030/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis While flying at an altitude of 1,200 feet, about 3/4-mile offshore, the pilot reported that the airplane's engine started to "sputter" before losing power. He verified the fuel selector and mixture settings and reported that the engine did not respond to his throttle control inputs. He could not recall if he had applied carburetor heat. He subsequently executed a forced landing to an unpopulated area of the beach, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage. A postaccident test run of the engine revealed no evidence of any mechanical anomalies. According to the Federal Aviation Administration icing probability chart, the airplane was operating in conditions conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power at the time of the accident. Without carburetor heat carburetor ice can form resulting in loss of power and possible engine roughness. ## Factual narrative On September 18, 2010, at 1215 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172D, N2483Y, was substantially damaged during a forced landing, following a loss of engine power, near Palm Beach, Florida. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which last departed Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA), West Palm Beach, Florida, and was destined for Boca Raton Airport (BCT), Boca Raton, Florida. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to the pilot, he was flying northbound at an altitude of 1,200 feet, about 3/4-mile from the coastline, when the engine stated to "sputter." He verified the fuel selector was in the "both" position, the mixture control was in the rich position, and he checked the position of the throttle. The pilot further stated that the throttle would not respond to control inputs and it seemed to be "dead." When asked, he could not recall if he had activated the carburetor heat. The pilot subsequently selected an unpopulated portion of the beach, and executed a soft field landing. During the landing sequence, the left wing tip struck the ground as the nose landing gear dug into the soft sand, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane's left wing. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane following the accident. A test-run of the engine was conducted, with no anomalies noted. Additionally, the inspector also functionally tested the operation of the throttle and carburetor heat, with no anomalies of either noted. According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 1962, and was equipped with a 145-horsepower, Teledyne-Continental Motors O-300 reciprocating engine. It was a four-place, all metal, high-wing, single-engine, cantilever monoplane with fixed tricycle landing gear. At 1053, the weather reported at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida, located 5 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, included winds from 080 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 17 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; scattered clouds at 3,500 feet and broken clouds at 5,500 feet; temperature 31 C, dewpoint 21 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.99 inches of mercury. Interpolation of a carburetor icing probability chart published by the FAA showed the potential for serious icing at glide power settings, given the temperature and dewpoint that existed at the time. ## Aircraft - Registration: N2483Y (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172D - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17249783 - Airframe hours: 3049 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-300 SER 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 9, 2010, 23 hours before - Departed: LNA, Lantana, FL - Destination: BCT, Boca Raton, FL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 11, 2010; seat: left; flight hours: 750 total, 745 in this make and model, 750 as pilot in command, 10 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 80° at 11 knots, gusting 17 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,500 ft broken - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: PBI, 5 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 20100918046259A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100918046259A), Sep 18, 2010: Cessna 172D, Palm Beach, FL, Substantial damage. 09-18-2010:Flight in VFR cruise southbound flying off the Beach approx. 1200 ft. altitude when 1/2 mile north of breakers hotel in Palm Beach, Florida the… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 3, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=77367. 2.6 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40354223&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Memorandum for Record - Telephone Interview, Pilot (item 2, .PDF, 27 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353910&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%20-%20Telephone%20Interview,%20Pilot-Master.PDF - FAA Inspector's Statement (item 3, .PDF, 9 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353909&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%27s%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Photo - Airplane from Left (Photo Courtesy of FAA) (item 4, .PDF, 577 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353911&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%20-%20Airplane%20from%20Left%20(Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-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.