Event WPR18TA157

Factual narrative

On May 18, 2018, about 0809 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182D airplane, N9163X, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Crescent Mills, California. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that, as he approached the destination airport, he observed fog low in the valley where the airport was located and began to circle at a low engine power setting. While circling, the engine lost total power. The pilot established the airplane's best glide speed and proceeded toward a river for a forced landing. The airplane impacted rocks and came to rest nose down with the left wing in the water, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The atmospheric conditions present in the area of the accident site included a surface temperature of 22°C, dew point of 7.5°C, and a relative humidity of 63%; consistent with a potential for serious carburetor icing at glide power settings. The pilot reported that when he arrived in the vicinity of the destination airport, there was fog in the valley where the airport was located, and he began circling the airplane at a low engine power setting. The engine subsequently lost total power, and the pilot performed a forced landing to a river, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The atmospheric conditions present in the area at the time of the accident were conducive to the development of serious carburetor icing at glide power settings which likely resulted in the 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).

• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Temp/humidity/pressure-Conducive to carburetor icing-Effect on equipment