Summary
On May 17, 2012, a Rotherwick Hr Glasair III (N471B) was involved in an incident near Darby, MT. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot’s loss of directional control during an emergency landing on a paved highway.
***This report was modified on August 7, 2012. Please see the dcoket for this accident to view the original report.***
The pilot reported that, about 2 hours into a visual flight rules cross-country flight, he enriched the mixture due to indications of excessive cylinder head and exhaust gas temperatures. This resulted in a higher fuel burn than planned, so he changed the flight’s destination to a closer airport. While en route to his amended destination, he encountered instrument meteorological conditions. A subsequent buildup of ice resulted in a loss of 100 knots of airspeed as the airplane entered a controlled descent. The pilot executed a 180-degree turn and broke out of the clouds over a valley.
This incident is documented in NTSB report WPR12CA213. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N471B.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s loss of directional control during an emergency landing on a paved highway.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
***This report was modified on August 7, 2012. Please see the dcoket for this accident to view the original report.***
The pilot reported that, about 2 hours into a visual flight rules cross-country flight, he enriched the mixture due to indications of excessive cylinder head and exhaust gas temperatures. This resulted in a higher fuel burn than planned, so he changed the flight’s destination to a closer airport. While en route to his amended destination, he encountered instrument meteorological conditions. A subsequent buildup of ice resulted in a loss of 100 knots of airspeed as the airplane entered a controlled descent. The pilot executed a 180-degree turn and broke out of the clouds over a valley. During the next 50 minutes, he made several attempts to exit the valley; however, mountain peak obscuration and a thunderstorm prevented him from flying out of the valley. Now very close to fuel exhaustion, he elected to land on a two-lane highway. During the landing roll, the airplane veered off the side of the road, impacted a tree, slid backwards through a ditch, and collided with a concrete drainage culvert. The airplane sustained damage to the outboard sections of both wings.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# WPR12CA213