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| Date: | Monday 28 May 2018 |
| Time: | 09:30 |
| Type: |  Aeronca O-58B Grasshopper |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N47252 |
| MSN: | 058B-9843 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1944 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2668 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental O-170-3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Burt County, a mile west of Tekamah, NE -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Tekamah, NE (TQE) |
| Tekamah, NE (TQE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot reported that, about 30 minutes after departing for a personal, local flight, he was conducting a tribute over a cemetery and noticed that the engine was not running properly, so he proceeded to fly toward an airport located about 8 nautical miles (nm) to the east. While en route to the airport, the engine stopped developing full power and had a maximum rpm of about 1,500. The airplane descended, and during the forced landing, it impacted a ditch about 3 nm from the airport, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot stated that he should have landed the airplane in a flat field when the opportunity was possible, instead he "kept flying into a situation where there were no options."
Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the loss of engine power, the airplane was operating in conditions conducive to carburetor icing at glide power. The pilot reported that he was not using carburetor heat. It is likely that, during the tribute, the pilot reduced engine power, resulting in a buildup in carburetor ice, which restricted the air and fuel flow and caused the reduced engine power. When the reduced engine power condition occurred, the pilot should have identified an appropriate forced landing site; however, he chose to continue to fly the airplane to an airport located about 8 nm away. When the engine lost total power, he had to make a forced landing on unsuitable terrain.
Probable Cause: The partial loss of engine power due to the formation of carburetor ice. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to use carburetor heat and his decision to continue flight with reduced engine power rather than landing the airplane on suitable terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=47252
Location
Media:
WATCH: 1944 Aeronca two-person plane flying over Memorial Day ceremony in Tekamah before it crashed about three miles away in a Burt County field. Dennis Westergaard (pilot) & Delmer Chamberlain (passenger) expected to survive. My reports at 5 & 6. @KETV: https://t.co/7vcUdB3Sbz pic.twitter.com/c5mxEq1OP7
— Chinh Doan (@ChinhDoan) 28 mai 2018
2 injured in plane crash near Tekamah https://t.co/sTUWX1Srao pic.twitter.com/seoNYXuNei
— KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) May 28, 2018
Vintage Fairchild PT-23 plane crashes in Tekamah on Memorial Day. 2 injured.https://t.co/0n64j4ImtP via @burtcountynews pic.twitter.com/sPV6pNqtSN
— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 29 mai 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-May-2018 16:31 | Geno | Added |
| 28-May-2018 21:35 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-May-2018 21:44 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 28-May-2018 21:48 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 29-May-2018 04:52 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Location, Phase, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 29-May-2018 17:46 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Embed code, ] |
| 22-Dec-2019 14:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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