Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601
Saturday, January 6, 2001 11:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was flying the airplane at 1,200 feet agl, looking at the ice damage caused by a recent storm. As the airplane was crossing plowed fields, which were surrounded by trees, the engine rpm "dropped to around 1100." The pilot "pushed the fuel mixture all the way to rich, pulled the carburetor heat control, pushed off the cabin heat and pushed the throttle all the way forward," with no increase in engine performance. A forced landing was initiated to a gravel road. During the landing roll, the airplane drifted off the left side of the road into a muddy ditch. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that the loss of engine power was due to carburetor icing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the forced landing on a gravel road. Contributing factors were the pilot's delay in using carburetor heat and the loose gravel.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/6/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Pine Bluff
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71601
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 1
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 Off Airport/Airstrip
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 1053 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID lit
Elevation of weather observation facility 260
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 44
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10575
NTSB Notification Source Little Rock FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Feb 12 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Sep 27 2001 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8984B
NTSB Number FTW01LA064
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 36684
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1583
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Timothy F. Newton
Aircraft Owner Street Address 425 Newton Road
Aircraft Owner City Grady
Aircraft Owner State AR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71644
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 PBF
Departure City Pine Bluff
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1110
Departure Time Zone CST
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Sep 6 2001 10:54AM
User who most recently changed record MORJU
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --