The private pilot was conducting a personal flight near Hartford, Conn., in a Cessna 182. He reported that, while the airplane was climbing after takeoff, he noticed the engine began running roughly, and it then lost power.
He attempted to regain full power by using the carburetor heat, but was unsuccessful, so he decided to conduct a forced landing, during which the airplane hit a chain link fence.
Post-accident examination of the engine and airplane revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and fuel was found in the fuel system.
Although weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of carburetor icing during cruise flight, the airplane was operating at takeoff power at the time of the power loss.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the partial loss of engine power during climb after takeoff for a reasons that could not be determined because post-accident engine examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures.
NTSB Identification: ERA15LA063
This November 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Years ago on a C 182 fitted with an 0 – 470, a power loss was the result of the collapse of the “accordion style” rubber boot connecting intake filter with the rest of the fixed intake passage. The reduced pressure at full power resulted in the collapse which corrected itself at reduced power. Difficult to spot during an inspection but resolved with a replacement.
Correction: I wrote the Continental 0-200 What I ment was Continental 0-300 engine six cylinder 145 h.p. Sorry for the confusion..
The Continental 0-470, and the Continental 0-200 are both highly susceptible to carburetor icing, due to the intake manifold being so far down away from the oil pan where the carburetor is mounted on the engine that the ram air hits it directly and can cause icing in the inlet of the carburetor quite easily. Unlike the Lycoming engine, the intake manifold is actually in the oil pan surrounded by hot oil, thus keeping if pretty much ice free..
Poor headline on the article
Gravity brought the aircraft back to the surface of planet earth….
the pilot determined the where and when….
The PIC.. the pilot is supposed to be prepared to do what is necessary to live and not die in an aircraft…….. I suspect that this aviator is not a subject matter expert on the aircraft, nor is this pilot (my guess) disciplined to evaluate each flight per the conditions existing at the time of the flight and then take or make the appropriate decisions to ensure and it comes back to being a subject matter expert on the aircraft one is flying that day… not what you flew two weeks ago and under the conditions that exist for that flight… not what you did two weeks ago…. and being a subject matter expert regarding the atmosphere and how it may impact the performance of ones aircraft………
FAR 91.3………. read it ten times……… then read it again…………. YOU ARE THE PIC ! Be one.
Carb ice can occur during a long taxi, but I’ve only ever heard of that occurring on Cessna 150s since the O-200 has a smaller Venturi. I’ve even heard of guys in 150s that use carb heat at takeoff in certain conditions, but a C182 “shouldn’t” have this problem. Still, I’d be curious to know if the pilot checked the carb heat during his pre-flight run-up. Doing that “should” have cleared any ice that had formed during taxi.
Yes, the C-182 will get carb ice quite easily. I’ve had this exact situation many years ago. Moderate length taxi to the far runway. 60° day in AZ with a little virga off in the distance. A quick cycle of carb heat to check for RPM drop before take off, and off we go. All seemed normal except I had a distinct lack of climb. Carb heat on and the engine got really sick while the ice cleared, then normal climb power. Lesson learned. When you cycle carb heat on before you roll, make sure it’s long enough to clear any potential ice in the carb. I never expected ice that day, but it happened, due to my own neglect of proper operation of carb heat.