Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Saturday, July 15, 2006 18:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot of the Cessna 182A, he was returning to land after completing a skydiving drop. The descent, and the downwind and base legs of the traffic pattern were uneventful; however, after turning onto the final leg, the pilot attempted to add power, and the engine "cut out." The pilot checked the mixture, magnetos and throttle, but the engine did not regain power. In order to clear trees, the pilot reduced airspeed to stall speed, and the airplane landed short of the runway. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, there was adequate fuel onboard, and there were no mechanical anomalies noted, but the carburetor heat was off. A plot of the ambient temperature and dew point on a carburetor icing probability chart revealed the likelihood of "serious [carburetor] icing at glide power."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to utilize carburetor heat, which resulted in the formation of carburetor ice and subsequent engine failure. Factors included the carburetor icing conditions and trees in the forced landing area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/15/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1815
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Plattsburgh
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12901
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 444112N
Event Location Longitude 0733124W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
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 --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20840
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2007 9:40AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2186G
NTSB Number NYC06CA119
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 51486
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Maplefield Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Malone Parachute Club
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Plattsburgh
Operator State NY
Operator Country USA
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) Skydiving
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PLB
Departure City Plattsburgh
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 2 2006 2:31PM
User who most recently changed record ANDJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --