Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Catherine Twp., Pennsylvania 16693
Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:15 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Between 30 minutes to 1 hour into the visual flight rules flight, the pilot reported that the engine began to "run rough." The pilot applied carburetor heat, but that only made the roughness worse, so after about one minute, he turned the carburetor heat back off. The pilot then decided to "take emergency action," and performed a forced landing to the top of a nearby mountain. The weather conditions reported about 17 nautical miles west of the accident site, which was also located between the accident site and the destination airport, were well below the minimums for VFR flight. Additionally, when asked about the weather in-flight the pilot stated that there was at least 1-mile visibility, and that he stayed clear of the clouds, as he was in "class G" airspace. Interpolation of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed that the atmospheric conditions were conducive to "moderate icing" at cruise power or "serious icing" at glide power. An FAA publication provided pilots with warning signs of, and solutions to carburetor icing. The publication warned that a loss of engine rpm in airplanes equipped with a fixed pitch propeller is one sign that carburetor ice may be present. In order to counteract carburetor icing, the pilot should apply full carburetor heat immediately. The publication noted that the engine "may run rough initially for a short time while ice melts."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper use of carburetor heat. Contributing to the accident were the weather conditions conducive to the formation of carburetor ice.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/24/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1115 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Catherine Twp. |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 16693 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403429N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0781241W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1109 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 207 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AOO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1504 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 17 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 3 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.28 |
| 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) | 23102 |
| NTSB Notification Source | PA EMS |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 24 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2008 3:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Allegheny FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N56124 |
| NTSB Number | NYC07LA085 |
| 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-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7325577 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| 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 | Mar 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2467 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert W. Margosiak |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Budd Lake |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SEG |
| Departure City | Sellingrove |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 930 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 9G8 |
| Destination City | Ebensburg |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 13 2008 4:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |