- Date
- July 12, 1994, 19:20 local (23:20 UTC)
- Place
- Coatsville, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N60426Cessna 150J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 26, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940712018389A
- Case key
- 38790
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 inadequate use of carburetor hear. A factor was carburetor icing conditions and soft 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 airplane was in cruise flight at 2000 ft MSL when the pilot noticed a gradual drop in engine RPM. He added carburetor heat; however, the engine RPM continued to decrease and he set up for a forced landing. During rollout, to prevent from going onto a road where vehicles were traveling, the pilot applied heavy braking. The nose wheel dug into the soft terrain, and the airplane nosed over. According to an FAA published carburetor icing chart, the temperature/dew point, respectively 87 and 65 degrees f, were within the range for carburetor icing conditions.
Factual narrative
On July 12, 1994, at 1920 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150J, N60426, owned and operated by Chester County Aviation, of Coatsville, Pennsylvania, experienced a power loss, and the pilot made an off airport landing near Coatsville. The airplane received substantial damage and the occupants were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR Part 91.
In the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot reported a gradual loss of RPM while in cruise flight, which could not be recovered with the use of carburetor heat. He set up for a forced landing in a field. After touchdown, as the airplane approached a road with vehicles on it, the pilot applied hard braking. The nose wheel dug into the soft terrain and the airplane nosed over.
The FAA reported that on July 20, 1994, "...engine run up was completed...Engine started right up, run up went well, no indication of fuel contamination."
At Philadelphia International Airport, which was 32 miles south east of the accident site, the temperature and dewpoint were 87 F and 65 F respectively, at 1850, and 86 F and 65 F respectively, at 1950.
According to the carburetor icing chart probability chart, the airplane was operating in a range of "Serious Icing At Glide Power."
The private pilot reported he had 266 hours total time and 250 hours in the Cessna 150.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N60426
- Reported as
- Cessna 150J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15070298
- Airframe hours
- 2,223
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Chester County Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 6, 1994 · 61 hours before
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 266 total · 250 in this make and model · 81 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL, 32 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.