Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Falmouth, Kentucky 41040
Wednesday, December 26, 2001 19:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot filed an IFR flight plan and received a standard weather briefing, which included a forecast for light snow along the entire route of flight. The briefing also included an AIRMET for occasional moderate rime or mixed ice in clouds and precipitation from 6,000 to 12,000 feet msl, and a PIREP for light rime ice at 5,000 feet msl. About 20 minutes after departure, and cruising in IMC conditions at 5,000 feet for approximately 10 minutes, the pilot observed snow. Several minutes later, the engine lost all power, and the pilot then applied the carburetor heat as part of his restart checklist. The engine did not restart, and the pilot performed a forced landing to trees. FAA Advisory Circular AC 20-113 cautioned pilots of impact ice forming on intake screens and carburetors when flying in snow. The circular advised pilots to use carburetor heat as a preventative measure, rather than as a deicer. After the accident, an FAA inspector attended a test run of the accident engine. The inspector stated that the engine started with no difficulty and ran continuously.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather. A factor was the snow.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/26/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Falmouth
Event State KENTUCKY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 41040
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 12
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 Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1851 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID CVG
Elevation of weather observation facility 897
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11844
NTSB Notification Source SRCC
NTSB Notification Date Dec 26 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 4 2002 9:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Louisville, KY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N660DD
NTSB Number NYC02LA043
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18266038
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
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 Jul 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 85
Airframe Hours 4150
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Troutner
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Columbus
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43204
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 No
Departure Airport Code LOU
Departure City Louisville
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TZR
Destination City Columbus
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2002 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
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 --