Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Greenwood Lake, West Milford Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
West Milford, New Jersey 07480
Saturday, December 18, 2010 10:15 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
**This report was modified on January 21, 2014. Please see the public docket for this accident to view the original report.**
The pilot conducted a preflight inspection that included procedures to ensure removal of accumulated water before flight. Due to the cold temperature, the pilot requested an engine pre-heat service, which was applied for an estimated 15 minutes. There were no abnormalities during the engine start, taxi, and engine run-up before takeoff. During the takeoff climb, the pilot reduced power to the cruise/climb setting. At an altitude of about 1,500 feet above ground level, the engine sustained a partial loss of power; the pilot then applied carburetor heat and elected to return to the departure airport. While returning to the airport, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall, impacting the ground adjacent the runway. A postaccident examination did not reveal any discrepancies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane or its systems.
A postaccident examination revealed a chunk of ice with debris frozen in the gascolator fuel bowl; however, the ice chunk was not large enough to block the fuel flow to the engine. Further examination revealed no water in the carburetor. The closest official weather observation station, about 14 miles west of the accident site, reported the temperature as 4 degrees Celsius (C) and the dew point as minus 1 degrees C about 35 minutes after the accident. Based on the ambient temperature and the dew point, serious carburetor icing conditions were possible at cruise power.
The airplane's Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), in the cold weather operation section, states that "appropriate use of carburetor heat is recommended . . . . Full carburetor heat may be required for temperatures below -12 [degrees] C whereas partial heat could be used in temperatures between -12 [degrees] C and 4 [degrees] C . . . . Use the minimum carburetor heat required for smooth operation in take-off, climb, and cruise." The investigation determined that the pilot's application of carburetor heat was not consistent with guidance in the POH, and carburetor icing developed because of the pilot's delay in applying carburetor heat.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's delayed application of carburetor heat while taking off in weather conditions conducive to serious carburetor icing, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/18/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1015 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | West Milford |
| Event State | NEW JERSEY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 07480 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 410725N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0742028W |
| Event Location Airport | Greenwood Lake, West Milford |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 4N1 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 791 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KFWN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 421 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 14 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 4 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.09 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29492 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern Region ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 17 2013 8:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | bluk |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1462M |
| NTSB Number | ERA11LA093 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 182 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | P |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18264337 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2950 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 2 |
| 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 | Dec 10 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 3432 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Last Wish LLC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 10 Woodlot RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bloomingdale |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 07403 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Individual |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Bloomingdale |
| Operator State | NJ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 07403 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | 4N1 |
| Departure City | Milford |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1015 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 4N1 |
| Destination City | Milford |
| Destination State | NJ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 19 2011 12:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 24 |
| Runway Length | 3471 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |