9 Feb 2014: CESSNA 182A A — AUSTIN SKYDIVING CENTER INC

9 Feb 2014: CESSNA 182A A — AUSTIN SKYDIVING CENTER INC

No fatalities • Lexington, TX, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper use of the carburetor heat, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On February 9, 2014, about 1700 central standard time, a Cessna 182A airplane nosed over during a forced landing while on final approach to land at the Lexington Airfield (TE75), Lexington, Texas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane received substantial damage to the firewall and rudder. The airplane was registered to and operated by Austin Skydiving Center as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 skydiving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from TE75 about 1645.

The pilot reported he climbed to an altitude of about 10,000 feet where the skydivers exited the airplane. He then began a 500 foot per minute descending spiral staying above the skydivers. He stated he had the power reduced and the carburetor heat on during the descent and that he removed the carburetor heat when he leveled off.

The pilot reported he was at an altitude of about 1,000 feet when he turned onto final approach and slowed the airplane so he could lower the flaps. He stated the airplane had slowed and he pushed the throttle in to maintain airspeed at which time he noticed the engine power did not increase. The pilot adjusted the throttle and was able to regain a slight amount of power. He switched the fuel tanks and the power output remained the same. The pilot applied carburetor heat and within seconds all engine power was lost.

The pilot reported there was a road and a house in his flight path so he turned the airplane to the left toward a field. During the approach to the field, the nose gear and propeller contacted a barbed wire fence. The airplane then nosed down, impacting the ground, and the airplane nosed over.

Weather conditions recorded at the Giddings-Lee County Airport (GYB), located about 16 miles south of the accident site, at 1655, were: wind 200 degrees at 6 knots; clear sky; visibility 10 miles; temperature 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit); dew point 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit), and altimeter 29.99 inches of mercury. Federal Aviation Administration guidance indicates a possibility of serious carburetor icing at glide power under those conditions.

A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any mechanical failure that would have resulted in the loss of engine power.

The Cessna 182 Owner's Manual "Let-Down" checklist states "Apply sufficient carburetor heat to prevent icing, if icing conditions exist." The "Before Landing" checklist states "Apply carburetion heat before closing throttle."

Contributing factors

  • cause Pilot
  • cause Effect on equipment

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 200/06kt, 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.