- Date
- January 22, 1995, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Auburn, WA
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N29598Cessna 177
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 29, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950122000719A
- Case key
- 42102
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
Carburetor obstruction due to ingestion of part of the induction air ducting. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
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
Witnesses observed black smoke from the aircraft after takeoff. The aircraft sustained a loss of power and the pilot performed a forced landing into an open field. During the landing the aircraft encountered soft terrain and was substantially damaged. During investigation, a 1/2' by 1 1/2' piece of neoprene induction air ducting was found ingested in the carburetor, causing obstruction of the carburetor venturi.
Factual narrative
On January 22, 1995, approximately 1140 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 177, N29598, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after takeoff from Auburn Municipal Airport, Auburn, Washington. The private pilot and his daughter sustained minor injuries; his wife was uninjured. The flight, conducted under 14 CFR 91, was not under a flight plan and its destination was Tacoma Narrows airport, Tacoma, Washington, where the aircraft was to be fueled for a longer flight. There was no fire and no report of an ELT functioning.
The pilot stated that after takeoff to the south, at an altitude of two or three hundred feet, the aircraft sustained a loss of power and he initiated a forced landing into an open field, sustaining substantial damage due to soft terrain. The pilot stated that he heard noises indicating that the power loss was due to mechanical reasons. A witness stated that he saw black smoke from the aircraft prior to ground impact.
Investigators found a 1/2" by 1 1/2" piece of neoprene intake air box ducting in the carburetor throat, jammed in the venturi.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29598
- Reported as
- Cessna 177
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17700983
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Marshall F. Warner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 8, 1994
- Departed
- S50
- Destination
- TIW · Tacoma, WA
- Airport
- S50 · Auburn Municipal, runway 16, 3,400 × 75 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 230 total · 149 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SEA, 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.