ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 245591
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| Date: | Saturday 12 December 2020 |
| Time: | 13:50 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-180 Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N7639P |
| MSN: | 24-2851 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1961 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3639 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-360-A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Nashville, TN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Enterprise Municipal Airport, AL (ETS/KEDN) |
| Nashville-John C. Tune Airport, TN (KJWN) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot had completed most of a cross-country flight and about 7 miles from the destination airport during the approach, the engine lost all power. Despite several troubleshooting actions, the pilot was unable to restore engine power. He subsequently completed a forced landing in a field where the airplane touched down hard resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation and the fuel tanks were not breached.
A carburetor icing probability chart revealed that serious icing was to be expected at glide power. The pilot had not used carburetor heat within the preceding 30 minutes prior to the loss of engine power, and he could not recall using carburetor heat after the loss of engine power.
Additional examination of the airplane found about 7 gallons of fuel in the left fuel tank, which was the reported tank selected at the time of the engine failure. About 1/4 to 1/8 of a cup of fuel was found in the right tank, which was the tank the pilot switched to after the engine failure. Trace amounts of fuel were located throughout the fuel lines and carburetor.
Given that sufficient fuel was found in the tank that was selected when the loss of power occurred, it is likely that the accumulation of carburetor resulted in a total loss of engine power. In addition, after the loss of engine power, the fuel selector was switched to a tank that was found to have an unusable amount of fuel, which further reduced the possibility that engine power could be restored.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat during the approach, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA21LA070
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7639P
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 14 March 1985 | N7639P | Private | 0 | Zephyrhills, FL | |
sub |
Location
Media:
Earlier today BNA tower asked THP Aviation Pilot Lt. Brad Lund to check on a plane that had crashed in Nashville. Lt. Lund landed at the scene to assess the pilot. Luckily the pilot was not injured. @THPNashville @TNDeptofSafety @THP_Colonel pic.twitter.com/RsDK1uTB4a
— TN Highway Patrol (@TNHighwayPatrol) December 12, 2020
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Dec-2020 22:24 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 13-Dec-2020 10:57 | Anon. | Updated [Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 13-Dec-2020 16:39 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total occupants, Damage, Narrative] |
| 14-Oct-2022 12:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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