Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Anderson, South Carolina 29621
Monday, February 14, 2011 14:27 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that about 3 hours into his cross-country flight the engine began to surge and lose power. He initially thought it was carburetor ice and turned on the carburetor heat. The carburetor heat seemed to improve engine performance briefly, but the engine began to surge again and eventually stopped running. The pilot made an emergency forced landing in a field with the landing gear up and flaps down, incurring substantial damage to the underside of the airplane. A postaccident examination of the fuel system revealed no blockage or contamination of the fuel. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s carburetor icing probability chart, the temperature/dew point combination at the time of the accident met the conditions favoring formation of serious carburetor icing at cruise power. It is likely that the loss of engine power resulted from carburetor icing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power due to the formation of carburetor ice.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/14/2011
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1427
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Anderson
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29621
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 342400N
Event Location Longitude 0823000W
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 1451 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID AHN
Elevation of weather observation facility 808
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
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) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
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) 29232
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 10 2011 2:46PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80741
NTSB Number ERA11LA173
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 GLOBE
Aircraft Model GC-1B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 144
Certified Max Gross Weight 1710
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 52
Airframe Hours 6152
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SIGVALDSEN GARY S
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28409-3307
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SIGVALDSEN GARY S
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WILMINGTON
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 28409-3307
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 No
Departure Airport Code ILM
Departure City Wilmington
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1133
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 18A
Destination City Canon
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 10 2011 2:46PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --