Narrative
After approximately 15 minutes of flight, the pilot descended from a cruise altitude of 6,000 feet MSL to 4,600 feet MSL before entering the traffic pattern. He executed a 360-degree turn for spacing, entered the downwind leg, and performed his pre-landing checklist. According to the pilot, he did not apply carburetor heat until he was established on final approach, had selected full flaps, reduced engine power to 15 inches of manifold pressure, and advanced the propeller full forward. When the carburetor heat was supplied, the engine experienced a severe and significant loss of power. The airplane touched down hard in soft terrain short of the runway and flipped over.
Checklist and Conditions
The owner's manual let-down checklist specifies that carburetor heat should be applied if icing conditions exist. In the existing weather conditions, severe carburetor icing could occur at glide power.