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ATL90LA068

1990-03-03 · CANON, Georgia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 18A

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER USE OF CARBURETOR HEAT BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN CARBURETOR ICE. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: CARBURETOR ICING CONDITIONS, AND SOFT TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

AFTER DESCENDING FM 2500 TO 2000 FT, THE PLT REALIZED THE ENG HAD LOST PWR, WHEN IT DID NOT RESPOND TO THROTTLE MOVEMENTFOR LEVEL OFF. HE MOVED THE CARBURETOR HEAT TO THE 'ON' POSITION, BUT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENG. SUBSEQUENTLY, HE MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A PLOWED FIELD & THE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED ON SOFT TERRAIN. THE CARBURETOR WAS DAMAGED DURING THE OCCURRENCE. AFTER IT WAS REPLACED, THE ENG WOULD OPERATE. AN EXAM OF THE DAMAGED CARBURETOR REVEALED ONLY NORMAL WEAR. THE TEMP & DEW POINT WERE 64 & 44 DEG, RESPECTIVELY. ACCORDING TO CARBURETOR ICING CHARTS, CONDITIONS WERE CONDUCIVE TO CARBURETOR ICE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL90LA068.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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