Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pickens, South Carolina 29671
Saturday, July 8, 1995 19:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was flying over mountainous terrain in cruise flight when the engine began to lose power. He followed emergency procedures and switched on the boost pump. The engine regained full power momentarily, but then experienced a gradual loss of power. The airplane was brought to minimum controllable airspeed (MCA), and settled in the tree tops. There was a post crash fire following the collision. According to the pilot, emergency procedures were followed, and the carburetor temperature gauge appeared normal from a glance. The weather conditions were favorable for the formation of carburetor ice, and the pilot reported that he did not use the carburetor heat. Conversations with other operators of the same type aircraft and the engine manufacturer revealed that there is a problem with the aircraft induction airbox. The airbox problem causes the engine to run rough. Leaning of the engine exacerbates the condition, and introduction of carburetor heat increases engine RPM rather than decreasing RPM.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the inadequate design and operation of the induction airbox. A factor in the accident was the carburetor icing weather conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/1995
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1930
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City PICKENS
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29671
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1950 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID GSP
Elevation of weather observation facility 972
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 13000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2051
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 10 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1045
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:24PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N150AE
NTSB Number ATL95LA131
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PZL
Aircraft Model KOLIBER -150A
Aircraft Series Identifier KOLIBER -1
Aircraft Serial Number 04940070
Certified Max Gross Weight 1874
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 5 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 108
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FRANK MOONEYHAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2101 CORNWALLIS AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City CAMDEN
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29020
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name ANDREW J. SHAKESPEARE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2203 AIRLINE DR.
Operator City CAMDEN
Operator State SC
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 29020
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CDN
Departure City CAMDEN
Departure State SC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1715
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code CDN
Destination City
Destination State SC
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --