Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilots failure to use carburetor heat during takeoff in weather conducive for serious carburetor ice. Factors were the weather that was conducive for carburetor icing and the presence of the truck that the aircraft impacted.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On December 14, 1999, at 0910 central standard time, a Cessna 150B, N7339X, owned and piloted by a certified flight instructor (CFI), sustained substantial damage during a forced landing on a road, following an engine failure during climbout from the North Omaha Airport (3NO), Omaha, Nebraska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local instructional flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The CFI and dual student reported no injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
In a written statement, the CFI stated, "shortly after departure, approximately 700 feet agl, 2,022 feet msl, the aircraft experienced a failed engine." The CFI stated that she executed a forced landing on a road and the aircraft contacted a semi-truck.
A postaccident examination of the aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed no preexisting anomalies with respect to the aircraft or aircraft systems. In a written report, the CFI reported no mechanical malfunction.
The Eppley Airfield weather reporting station (OMA), Omaha, Nebraska, located 7 miles on a magnetic heading of 124 degrees from the accident site reported, at 0852, clear skies, winds from 090 degrees at 6 knots, an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of mercury, a temperature of 32 degrees F., and a dewpoint of 28 degrees F. A carburetor icing probability chart developed by Transport Canada depicts regions of temperature and dewpoint that are conducive for the development of carburetor ice. FAA Advisory Circular AC 20-113 "Pilot Precautions and Procedures to be Taken in Preventing Aircraft Reciprocating Engine Induction System and Fuel System Icing Problems" states under Prevention Procedures, "When the relative humidity is above 50 percent and the temperature is below 70 degrees F., apply carburetor heat briefly immediately before takeoff, particularly with float type carburetors, to remove any ice which may have been accumulated during taxi and runup.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CHI00LA046