N5527R

On February 17, 2002, about 2000 central standard time, a Cessna 172F, N5527R, piloted by an airline transport pilot, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power in cruise flight. The airplane struck a powerline during the landing attempt and came to rest on a road. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating on a visual flight rules flight plan in visual meteorological conditions. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from the La Crosse Municipal Airport, La Crosse, Wisconsin, at 1930, and was bound for the Capital Airport, Springfield, Illinois.

In a written report, the pilot stated that he was in cruise flight for about 40 minutes when a loss of engine power was experienced. He said that he attempted to correct the loss of power with, "...carb[uretor] heat, power settings, change fuel tanks, mixture settings. Nothing worked so made commitment to land." The airplane struck a powerline and brush during the landing attempt in the snow covered field. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest nose down on a road. The pilot stated that the, "...engine never quit but it would not develop power either."

No contamination was found in the fuel system during a postaccident examination of the airplane. An engine run was performed subsequent to the accident and no anomalies were noted.

The temperature and dewpoint were recorded by the weather reporting station located at the Prairie Du Chien Municipal Airport, Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, 16 nm south of the accident site, as 3 degrees Celsius, and -6 degrees Celsius respectively, at 1954. According to a carburetor icing chart, the temperature and dewpoint fall in the range of susceptibility for carburetor icing.