Phoenix-Deer Valley Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Deer Valley, Arizona 85223
Friday, February 28, 2003 10:20 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane nosed over during a forced landing following an engine power loss. The pilot reported that after about 35 minutes of flying the engine began to lose power. He applied carburetor heat and turned on the fuel boost pumps. He also manipulated the throttle, but it did not restore the engine power. The pilot executed a forced landing on to a dirt road, and during the rollout the main gear hit a rock and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported he thought the engine problem was caused by carburetor ice. The temperature was 52 degrees Fahrenheit and the dew point was 43 degrees Fahrenheit. According to a carburetor icing probability chart, the conditions were conductive for serious carburetor icing at cruise power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper use of carburetor heat, which resulted in carburetor icing and loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/28/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1020
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Deer Valley
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85223
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334730N
Event Location Longitude 1120745W
Event Location Airport PHOENIX-DEER VALLEY MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DVT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 1478
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1009 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID DVT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1478
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) 1343
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15308
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 927
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2004 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO- Scottsdale, AZ

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N87BC
NTSB Number LAX03LA101
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 Creitz, Robert D
Aircraft Model RV-3
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number RC-1-57
Certified Max Gross Weight 1200
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Nov 6 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 41.3
Airframe Hours 210.7
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David Earl Young
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Kalispell
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59901
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 DVT
Departure City Deer Valley
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 945
Departure Time Zone MST
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 Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 24 2004 6:05PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
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 --