Meadowlake Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Peyton, Colorado 80831
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 11:40 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot leaned the mixture to 50 degrees rich of peak, positioned the propeller lever full forward, and set the throttle to 1,200 RPM on the engine tachometer. After turning base, the pilot reduced the throttle in preparation of extending the flaps. The pilot then increased the throttle to maintain altitude; however, the engine power did not increase as the throttle was applied. The pilot rechecked the fuel pump, which was on, and applied carburetor heat, "which produced a constant and noticable further loss of power." The pilot checked the cockpit gauges and noticed all were in the green and verified the propeller was in the full forward position. The manifold pressure was approximately 12 inches and the engine tachometer was indicating 2,000 RPM. The pilot then immediately turned the airplane toward the runway; however, he could not make it to the runway. Subsequently, the pilot attempted a forced landing onto a nearby road. During the forced landing, the airplane landed in a ditch approximately 20 feet from the road. The airplane's right wing struck a fence post, and the airplane came to rest upright. At a salvage facility, the engine was examined and test run. The engine was test run twice at various power settings. No anomalies were noted during the examination and test runs. A review of a carburetor icing probability chart placed the reported temperature and dew point in the "icing at glide and cruise power" area of the chart.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's delay in applying carburetor heat that resulted in the partial loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/21/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1140
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Peyton
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80831
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 385644N
Event Location Longitude 1043411W
Event Location Airport Meadowlake Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 00V
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 6874
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19497
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Dec 21 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, Colorado

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9318W
NTSB Number DEN06LA024
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-235
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-10999
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Jun 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 124
Airframe Hours 3398
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pikes Peak Fliers Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 175 W. Prestwick Ct.
Aircraft Owner City Castle Rock
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80104
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Warren Soeldner
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Colorado Springs
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80920
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 00V
Departure City Peyton
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1045
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 00V
Destination City Peyton
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - downwind
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 9 2006 1:53PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 6000
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --