NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA10LA463
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On September 2, 2010, about 1800 eastern daylight time, an experimental light sport Quicksilver MX-2, N7108Z, was substantially damaged when it impacted a residential structure during a forced landing after takeoff from Cannon Creek Airpark (15FL), Lake City, Florida. The certificated commercial pilot incurred minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a written statement submitted by the pilot, he completed a preflight inspection of the airplane, and after taxiing to the end of runway 27, completed an engine-run up check noting no anomalies. The pilot subsequently applied full takeoff power (6,400 rpm) and began the takeoff. Upon reaching about 200 feet msl, the pilot noticed that the engine coolant temperature had risen above 210 degrees Fahrenheit, with the normal range being between 160 degrees and 180 degrees. He responded by reducing the engine power to 4,500 rpm, and made a left turn to a heading of 180 degrees magnetic in an attempt to land in an overrun area for the perpendicular runway at the airport. The engine coolant temperature continued to rise above 220 degrees as the pilot pitched the airplane for the best glide speed of 45 mph. During the turn, the pilot noted that the airplane's sink rate was increasing, so he applied full power, with no accompanying response from the engine. After reaching the desired alignment with the overrun area, the pilot applied full right rudder an aileron to stop the turn, but the controls' effectiveness were decreased due to the airplane's slow speed. The airplane continued to turn and struck a pool enclosure attached to a home, resulting in substantial damage.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed that the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single and multiengine land and sea. The pilot's most recent second-class medical certificate was issued in March 2010. The pilot reported 3,600 total hours of flight experience, 25 hours of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The 1053 recorded weather at Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV), Gainesville, Florida, located about 34 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, included calm winds, clear skies, 10 statute miles visibility, temperature 32 degrees C, dewpoint 18 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.90 inches of mercury. According to a carburetor ice probability chart published by the FAA "serious icing at glide power" was possible based on the reported temperature and dewpoint.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The amphibious airplane was equipped with a Rotax 582, two-stroke, two-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 65 horse power reciprocating engine. According to the pilot, the airplane's most recent condition inspection was completed on August 5, 2010, and at that time the airframe and engine had accumulated 204 total flight hours. Since that inspection, the airplane had accumulated 16 additional flight hours. According to FAA aircraft registration records, the pilot purchased the airplane on August 11, 2010. Additionally, according to FAA airworthiness records, the airplane was manufactured in 1999, and had been previously operated as an ultralight vehicle until it was registered as an experimental light sport aircraft on September 21, 2007.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The engine was separated from the airframe, and a representative of the engine manufacturer examined the engine under the supervision of an FAA inspector. According to the representative's Investigation Report, the carburetor float bowls were removed to expose the main jets and examine the condition of the carburetors. Contamination in the form of varnish was found in both carburetor float bowls and the sieve screens were crushed, preventing them from free floating. The cylinder head was removed to expose both pistons and cylinders, and no evidence damage or seizure was observed on the pistons or cylinder walls. The cylinders also exhibited evidence of a previous disassembly and repair. The lower piston rings on both cylinders were stuck in their respective lands and exhibited extreme carbon build-up. The sides of the pistons, connecting rods, and crank case were coated in a black/brown glaze. No other evidence of any mechanical malfunction or defects of the engine were discovered. The pilot completed a preflight inspection of the airplane and a run-up check of the engine, noting no anomalies. During the initial climb, the pilot noted that the engine coolant temperature had risen above its normal range, and he responded by reducing engine power. He also turned the airplane left toward the overrun area for a perpendicular runway. The engine coolant temperature continued to rise as the pilot pitched the airplane for the best glide speed. As the pilot continued to maneuver the airplane, the sink rate was increasing, so he applied full power, with no accompanying response from the engine. During the attempted landing, the pilot gradually lost control of the airplane as it slowed, and subsequently struck a pool enclosure attached to a home. A postaccident examination of the engine found contamination within the carburetors; the pistons, connecting rods, and crankcase exhibited a black/brown glaze; and the lower piston rings exhibited extreme carbon build-up; however, no definitive cause for the rise in engine coolant temperature or the reported partial loss of engine power could be determined. The reported temperature and dew point at an airport located 34 nautical miles from the accident site were conducive to the formation of "serious" carburetor icing at glide engine power settings; however, given that the engine was operating at a very high power output when the reported loss of power occurred, it was unlikely that carburetor icing contributed to the partial loss of engine power. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
- — Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (reciprocating)-(general)-Not serviced/maintained
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_ERA10LA463.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Contractor Report (CR)
Icing Physics Studies Using the 3D SIDRM Test Article: 2023 Icing Tests Analysis
In-flight icing is an important safety issue and is a factor that affects aircraft design and performance. Newer regulations are driving a need for improvements in airframe and engine icing simulation…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning for UAV-Assisted 5G Network Slicing: A Comparative Study of MAPPO, MADDPG, and MADQN
The growing demand for robust, scalable wireless networks in the 5G-and-beyond era has led to the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile base stations to enhance coverage in dense urb…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Mathematical Model on the Temporal Dynamics of Aviation Competitive Pricing
This study investigates the competitive dynamics of airport pricing using U.S. airport data to validate the findings. It employs linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equation models to analyze t…
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – March 2025
This NASA Icing Update was prepared for presentation to the SAE International AC-9C Inflight Icing Technology Committee. This update includes the following topics: planned Rotational Icing Scaling tes…
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
An energy-stable phase-field model for droplet icing simulations
A phase-field model for three-phase flows is established by combining the Navier-Stokes (NS) and the energy equations, with the Allen-Cahn (AC) and Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equations and is demonstrated ana…
- NASA NTRS 2024 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – Oct 2024
This presentation provides a status update on select NASA icing research activities for the SAE AC-9C Icing Technical Committee Meeting on Oct 21, 2024.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗