- Date
- May 21, 2014, 09:14 local (16:14 UTC)
- Place
- Vacaville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2256NCessna 140
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20140521007249A
- Case key
- 89244
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 use of excessive brakes during landing, which resulted in a nose over. Contributing to the accident was a partial loss of engine power during takeoff initial climb, likely due to carburetor ice.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was taking off for a personal local flight and about 150 feet in the air, the engine lost partial power. The pilot decided to land the airplane on the remaining runway. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, the pilot said he applied the brakes too hard, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot said he had replaced two engine cylinders, and during the previous days he had run the engine on the ground in accordance with the cylinder break-in procedure. The accident flight was the first flight after the engine repair. Prior to the flight, he had done an extended ground run without the use of carburetor heat. He said during the initial climb the engine lost power, acting like it might have had water in the fuel, but during the preflight inspection, he had sumped the tanks, and found no water. According to a carburetor icing chart, the weather conditions at the time of the accident bordered between serious icing at glide power and serious icing at cruise power.
Factual narrative
The pilot was taking off for a personal local flight and about 150 feet in the air, the engine lost partial power. The pilot decided to land the airplane on the remaining runway. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, the pilot said he applied the brakes too hard, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot said he had replaced two engine cylinders, and during the previous days he had run the engine on the ground in accordance with the cylinder break-in procedure. The accident flight was the first flight after the engine repair. Prior to the flight, he had done an extended ground run without the use of carburetor heat. He said during the initial climb the engine lost power, acting like it might have had water in the fuel, but during the preflight inspection, he had sumped the tanks, and found no water. According to a carburetor icing chart, the weather conditions at the time of the accident bordered between serious icing at glide power and serious icing at cruise power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2256N
- Reported as
- Cessna 140 (G)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12492
- Built
- 1947
- Airframe hours
- 3,349
- Engine
- Cont Motor C85 SERIES, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mcdonald Kevin
- Registered owner
- Mcdonald Kevin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 9, 2014
- Departed
- KVCB · Vacaville, CA
- Destination
- KVCB · Vacaville, CA
- Airport
- KVCB · Nut Tree Airport, runway 2, 4,700 × 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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 30, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 460 total · 56 in this make and model · 351 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KVCB
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 19, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N2256N · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.