The pilot departed Stanley Municipal Airport (08D) in North Dakota, on an instrument flight rules flight to return to Bemidji Regional Airport (KBJI) in Minnesota.
He was cleared by air traffic control for the GPS 13 approach to KBJI. Shortly after the clearance, the engine RPM decreased “as if the key was shut off,” he told investigators.
He turned on the carburetor heat, however there was no change in the engine operations. The pilot enrichened the fuel mixture and advanced the throttle forward, however there was no change in the engine operations.
The pilot was in night instrument meteorological conditions and chose to focus on flying the airplane. During the descent, he turned the airplane toward the town of Clearbrook, but did not recall anything after that.
Security video footage showed that the airplane touched down on the top of a one-story building and then hit a retaining wall and the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts and forward fuselage. The pilot was seriously injured in the crash.
A post-accident examination of the engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. A representative of the aircraft owner believed the airplane initially departed KBJI with full fuel tanks and that the pilot added 16 gallons of fuel at 08D before the accident flight.
The temperature was about 37° F and the dew point was about 35° F. According to the carburetor icing probability graph contained in FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35, conditions were conducive for serious icing at cruise power.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s delayed use of carburetor heat which resulted in the loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.
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This April 2024 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.
Going to fly at night under weather conditions as described in anything with less than two fuel injected engines is not only asking for trouble – it’s insane.