- Date
- June 14, 2014, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Altamont, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2754AJackson Fred M Clipper
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 2, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- FAA report
- 20140614012189A
- Case key
- 89535
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 apply carburetor heat prior to descending in atmospheric conditions conducive to serious icing at all power settings, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
Findings · 2
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 reported that he had applied carburetor heat intermittently during the flight, but that during the final descent to the destination airport, he did not. The engine stopped producing power, and during the subsequent forced landing the airplane collided with trees which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and stated that the engine stopped producing power due to carburetor icing. Interpolation of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious icing at all power settings.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he had applied carburetor heat intermittently during the flight, but that during the final descent to the destination airport, he did not. The engine stopped producing power, and during the subsequent forced landing the airplane collided with trees which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and stated that the engine stopped producing power due to carburetor icing. Interpolation of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious icing at all power settings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2754A
- Reported as
- Jackson Fred M Clipper
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2003
- Built
- 2004
- Airframe hours
- 28
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jackson Fred M
- Registered owner
- Jackson Fred M
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 20, 2014
- Departed
- H30 · Hamilton, NY
- Destination
- PVT · Altamont, NY
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 538 total · 28 in this make and model · 0 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- ALB, 14 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 20, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.