- Date
- December 10, 1990, 08:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Gilmer, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N68776Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901210053419A
- Case key
- 23298
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 power loss due to the pilot's improper use of carburetor heat.
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 commercial pilot and his passenger were maneuvering at 700 feet MSL while on a pipeline patrol aerial observation flight, when the engine started running rough. The pilot applied full carburetor heat as he started to turn to an open field. The engine stopped running and the pilot established an emergency descent to an open pasture. The airplane was not able to clear the 20 to 30 feet trees adjacent to the open pasture and the unsuccessful forced landing terminated with the airplane sustaining substantial damage after impacting the trees. The pilot told the FAA inspector that he normally flew with the carburetor heat partially open. The pilot's improper use of carburetor heat induced the formation of carburetor ice which caused the loss of engine power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68776
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282370
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Barr Air Patrol, Inc.
- Departed
- 07F · Longview, TX
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 11,800 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Observed at
- GGG, 23 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.