Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rio Linda, California 95660
Saturday, March 10, 2012 19:25 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he began his descent from 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl) by lowering the landing gear and reducing the power on both engines. When the airplane reached an altitude of about 1,200 feet msl, the left engine lost power. The pilot was about to feather the left propeller when engine power was momentarily restored followed by both engines losing power. He selected a “dark space” on the ground and performed a forced landing. During the landing, the airplane collided with a ditch and a fence. Postaccident examination of the engines revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. About the time of the accident, a weather station about 4 nautical miles from the accident site reported a temperature of 52 degrees F and dew point of 45 degrees F. These weather conditions were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at cruise and glide power settings. The pilot did not report applying carburetor heat when he initiated the descent, during descent, or following the loss of engine power. Additionally, the pilot stated that he believed carburetor icing caused both engines to lose power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to carburetor icing, and the pilot's failure to use carburetor heat during descent while operating in an area conducive to carburetor icing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/10/2012
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1925
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Rio Linda
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95660
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 384142N
Event Location Longitude 1212811W
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 1915 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID MCC
Elevation of weather observation facility 77
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 16
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.98
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31504
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 14 2013 11:06AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6697L
NTSB Number WPR12LA128
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 BEECH
Aircraft Model 76
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number ME-271
Certified Max Gross Weight 3900
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 27 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name KALAR RAJINDER S
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City BEAVERTON
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97006-7476
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Gurtej S. Gill
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Rio Linda
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95673
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 VIS
Departure City Visalia
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1810
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MCC
Destination City Sacramento
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 24 2013 5:46PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --