No fatalities

21 May 2014: CESSNA 140 G — MCDONALD KEVIN — Vacaville, CA

Vacaville, CA, United States

On 21 May 2014, a CESSNA 140 G operated by MCDONALD KEVIN was involved in an aviation accident near Vacaville, CA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's use of excessive brakes during landing, which resulted in a nose over. Contributing to the accident was a partial loss of engine power during takeoff initial climb, likely due to carburetor ice. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot lost partial engine power during initial climb after engine repair. Attempting to land on remaining runway, hard braking caused the airplane to nose over, resulting in substantial damage.

Accident Details

During a personal local flight, the pilot experienced a partial loss of engine power approximately 150 feet above ground level. The pilot decided to land the airplane on the remaining runway. As the airplane neared the end of the runway, the pilot reported applying the brakes too firmly, which caused the airplane to nose over. The accident resulted in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and rudder.

Pilot Actions

Prior to the flight, the pilot had replaced two engine cylinders and conducted ground runs following the manufacturer's cylinder break-in procedure over the previous days. The accident flight was the first flight after the engine repair. During the preflight inspection, the pilot performed an extended ground run without using carburetor heat. In the initial climb, the engine lost power, exhibiting behavior the pilot likened to water contamination in the fuel; however, he had sumped the fuel tanks during preflight and found no water.

Weather Conditions

According to a carburetor icing chart, the weather conditions at the time of the accident bordered between serious icing at glide power and serious icing at cruise power.

Contributing factors

Causes

PilotSurface speed/braking — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Fuel control/carburetorEffect on operation