- Date
- November 16, 1991, 14:35 local (19:35 UTC)
- Place
- Poestenskill, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N50877Cessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911116051949A
- Case key
- 37109
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 improper use of carburator heat, resulting in carburator ice and a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing on 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 said the engine lost power in the traffic pattern. He made a forced landing in a field and the airplane nosed over. The FAA inspector was able to start and run the engine after the accident. The ambient temperature at the time of the accident was 46 degrees f and the dew point was 29 degrees f. according to the FAA chart, this temperature/dew point combination meets the conditions favoring formation of carburator icing. The student pilot had a total flight time of 128 hours with 11 hours in this make and model airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N50877
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15069616
- Airframe hours
- 2,079
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Span Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Louis J. Picarazzi
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 17, 1991 · 11 hours before
- Airport
- 5B7 · Rensselaer, runway 36, 2,675 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 128 total · 11 in this make and model · 36 in the last 90 days · 3.4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 22 knots, gusting 31
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.