Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Carroll County Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Westminster, Maryland 21158
Sunday, September 21, 1997 14:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot remained in the traffic pattern for 40 minutes in his homebuilt helicopter, performing takeoffs and landings. At 200 feet on final approach with 19 inches of manifold pressure set, the engine stopped running. During the forced landing, the pilot maneuvered to avoid an embankment and impacted the ground damaging the tail boom and rotor blades. Examination of the engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions. The temperature/dew point was: 57 degrees Fahrenheit and 38 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. Utilizing the 'Icing Probability Curves' charts, these temperatures combined with a glide power setting, placed the carburetor within the serious icing range. Examination of the helicopter revealed that the carburetor heat was preset prior to the flight and not accessible from inside the cockpit. After the accident, the FAA recommended to the manufacturer that a switch be placed in the cockpit. The manufacturer completed a modification allowing control of the carburetor heat from inside the cabin.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of power due to carburetor icing. A factor to this accident was the carburetor heat was not accessible from within the cockpit.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/21/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1445 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | WESTMINSTER |
| Event State | MARYLAND |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 21158 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | CARROLL COUNTY REGIONAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | W54 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 790 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1445 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | W54 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 790 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| 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) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1822 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 21 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1535 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N94CJ |
| NTSB Number | IAD97LA121 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Pohlman/Pohlman |
| Aircraft Model | ROTORWAY EXEC 90 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | ROTORWAY E |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 5043 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1425 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 28 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 26 |
| Airframe Hours | 26 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | JOHN W. POHLMAN |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1081 LONG VALLEY ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | WESTMINSTER |
| Aircraft Owner State | MD |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 21158 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | W54 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1405 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| 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 | 34 |
| Runway Length | 5100 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |