Greenwood Lake Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Milford, New Jersey 07480
Saturday, December 20, 1997 11:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was on final approach in an amateur-built airplane, when the engine lost power. The airplane landed short of the runway against rising terrain. No evidence of a pre-existing mechanical failure or malfunction was found with the airplane and engine. The pilot reported that he had designed his own checklist He had listed carburetor heat as a check item on the run-up checklist, but had not listed it on the landing checklist The pilot did not recall whether he had used carburetor heat. According to Icing Probability Charts, meteorological conditions were conducive for serious carburetor icing at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of the pilot to use carburetor heat, which resulted in carburetor ice. Carburetor icing conditions and terrain conditions were contributing factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/20/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City WEST MILFORD
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07480
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport GREENWOOD LAKE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4N1
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 791
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1145 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 182
Weather Observation Facility ID CDW
Elevation of weather observation facility 173
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
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 Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1832
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 20 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1217
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 28 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N18CC
NTSB Number NYC98FA047
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 Cady
Aircraft Model LONG-EZ
Aircraft Series Identifier LONG-EZ
Aircraft Serial Number 1149
Certified Max Gross Weight 1425
Aircraft Category Airplane
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 Nov 6 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21
Airframe Hours 614
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JAMES D. GLEICK
Aircraft Owner Street Address 79 STATE STREET
Aircraft Owner City BROOKLYN
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 11201
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 No
Departure Airport Code FRG
Departure City FARMINGDALE
Departure State NY
Departure Country
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 4N1
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 28 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --