7 Apr 2010: CESSNA 150G — Gary Pressler

7 Apr 2010: CESSNA 150G — Gary Pressler

No fatalities • Cooperstown, NY, United States

Probable cause

A partial loss of engine power during a simulated engine-out demonstration due to carburetor icing.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The certified flight instructor (CFI) stated that after takeoff he flew to another airport and demonstrated to the student a simulated loss of engine power by reducing power then applying carburetor heat. He began a right descending turn and reported clearing the engine (verifying full engine power was available) at least one time during the descent but added that he should not have left the engine at a low idle condition for more than 1 minute. He approached runway 02 and lowered 10 degrees of flaps while on a short base. The approach appeared normal to slightly high, and on short final (about 100 feet above touchdown zone elevation), the flight encountered a very strong and turbulent gust/rotor that necessitated immediate full power. He applied power and later reported the engine hesitated or stumbled. He removed carburetor heat, and pushed forward on the throttle and mixture controls, and also pumped the throttle in an effort to restore engine power which was unsuccessful. He maneuvered the airplane to a clear space and landed in a wooded area. Inspection of the engine by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector following recovery of the airplane revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction. A surface observation weather report approximately 17 minutes before the accident, indicated the temperature and dew point were 18 and 13 degrees Celsius respectively, (64 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit),. According to a FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) CE-09-35, dated June 30, 2009, the temperature and dew point were favorable for serious icing at glide power.

Contributing factors

  • cause Instructor/check pilot
  • cause Incorrect use/operation

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 290/11kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.