N737ZY

On February 16, 1994, at approximately 0920 central standard time, a Cessna 172N, N737ZY, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Georgetown, Arkansas. The airplane, flown by a private pilot, was on a personal cross country flight. There was no flight plan filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. Neither the pilot, nor the one passenger were injured.

According to the pilot, he found water in both tanks during the preflight inspection and he sumped the tanks until none was present. He departed Marked Tree, Arkansas, at 0830, and proceeded to Georgetown. Upon arriving in the Georgetown area, he was unable to find a grass strip that his passenger said was there. He stated that after circling the town several times at 1,200 feet MSL, he decided to go to Searcy, Arkansas, which was about 5 miles distant. The pilot further stated that shortly thereafter the engine began running rough and lost RPM. His efforts to alleviate the problem were unsuccessful and the RPM continued to drop. He stated that he checked the primer, fuel selector, and mixture, however; he was unsure whether he applied carburetor heat and if so for how long.

The pilot stated he could not sustain level flight and elected to execute a forced landing to a gravel road. He stated that touchdown was normal, but he then noticed a 7 foot high stump on the right side of the road and lifted the airplane off again to clear the stump. After touching down the second time the left wing struck a telephone pole and the airplane yawed into a ditch.

In his post-accident report the pilot stated he suspected carburetor ice as the reason for the power loss. The icing probability charts indicated the potential for serious icing existed at cruise power settings for the atmospheric conditions that were present.