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ATL89LA096

1989-03-04 · BLOUNTVILLE, Tennessee, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TRI

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

CARBURETOR ICE. THE PILOT FAILED TO APPLY CARBURETOR HEAT IN A TIMELY AND ADEQUATE MANNER. THIS FAILURE RESULTED IN THE ACCUMULATION OF ICE TO A POINT OF FAILURE OF THE ENGINE WHICH ELIMINATED THE HEAT NECESSARY TO REMOVE THE ICE.

Factual narrative

THE PLT REPORTED THAT ABOUT 10 MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF, HE WAS IN CRUISE FLT AT 3,000 FT WHEN HIS ENGINE DEVELOPED A MISS AND BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH. AFTER EMERGENCY PROCEDURES WHICH INCLUDED APPLYING CARB HEAT, THERE WAS A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN ENGINE PERFORMANCE. SHORTLY, THE ENGINE QUIT COMPLETELY AND THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO RETURN TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. DURING THE FORCED LANDING ATTEMPT, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH A UTILITY POLE AND POWER LINE AT OR NEAR STALL SPEED. THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. AFTER RECOVERY OF THE AIRPLANE, THE ENGINE WAS STARTED AND OPERATED SATISFACTORILY. THE EXISTING AMBIENT ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS WERE FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF CARBURETOR ICE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL89LA096.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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