- Date
- April 15, 1995, 23:30 local (Apr 16, 1995, 04:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hattiesburg, MS
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3835RCessna 172H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report June 29, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950415008089A
- Case key
- 37753
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-in-command's improper use of carburetor heat during descent, resulting in a total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing, and subsequent forced landing to unsuitable terrain.
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 stated he initiated an en route descent from 4,500 feet AGL, turned the carburetor heat on and then turned it back off. He continued his descent to 2,000 feet AGL, reduced power, turned the carburetor heat on, and the engine quit. An engine restart was attempted with negative results, and the airplane collided with a sewage treatment dike during the forced landing. Review of the probability carburetor icing chart revealed the engine could encounter serious icing at glide power based on the weather conditions at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On April 15, 1995, about 2330 central daylight time, a Cessna 172H, N3835R, registered to Vickie C. Hall, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a total loss of engine power and crashed in the vicinity of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured. The flight originated from Lafayette Municipal Airport, Lafayette, Tennessee, about 4 hours 15 minutes before the accident.
The pilot stated he initiated an en route descent from 4,500 feet agl, turned the carburetor heat on and then turned it back off. He continued his descent to 2,000 feet agl, reduced power, turned the carburetor heat on, and the engine quit. An engine restart was attempted with negative results, and the airplane collided with a sewage treatment dike during the forced landing.
Review of the probability carburetor icing chart revealed that the engine could encounter serious icing at glide power based on the weather observation at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3835R
- Reported as
- Cessna 172H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17255335
- Engine
- Continental O-300, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hall, Terry G.
- Registered owner
- Hall, Vickie C.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 6, 1994 · 165 hours before
- Departed
- 3M7 · Lafayette, TN
- Destination
- OLA4 · Reserve, LA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 280 total · 172 in this make and model · 231 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PIB, 10 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.