NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA94LA188
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
PARTIAL BLOCKAGE OF THE CARBURETOR BY A WASP NEST, WHICH WAS NOT VISIBLE DURING PREFLIGHT, AND WHICH RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF POWER.
Factual narrative
On July 29, 1994, about 1910 central daylight time, N74669, a Piper J5C registered to John Granberry, crashed while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot received minor injuries and the 2 passengers reported no injuries. The flight originated about 10 minutes earlier. The pilot stated that after takeoff the airplane engine began to cut in and out. The engine then failed and he attempted a forced landing to a field. The airplane nosed over on landing. Examination of the engine by FAA personnel revealed that about 75% of the carburetor venturi area was blocked with mud dauber nest material,that swelled up when saturated with fuel. ABOUT 10 MINUTES INTO A LOCAL FLIGHT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING TO AN OPEN FIELD. THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER ON LANDING. AN EXAMINATION OF THE CARBURETOR REVEALED A WASP NEST IN THE VENTURI THAT SWELLED WHEN SATURATED WITH FUEL. THE NEST WAS INSIDE THE CARBURETOR AND WAS NOT VISIBLE ON PREFLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_MIA94LA188.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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