CULVER PQ 14A — Hickory, NC

What happened

The commercial pilot, who owned the airplane, was making a local personal flight from his home airport. During taxi for takeoff, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot/owner reported to a controller in the airport's air traffic control tower that he did not know why the engine stopped but that he got it restarted. The airplane subsequently departed. Minutes after departure, the pilot reported "engine problems" to the controller, asked to return, and was cleared to land on any runway. The airplane reversed course and witnesses near the accident site reported hearing the engine sputter and then stop. The airplane struck trees about 1 mile from the extended runway centerline as the pilot was attempting to reach the airport.

Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal engine operation. The fuel drained from the airplane presented the color and odor of automobile gasoline, and the pilot was seen refueling his airplane from cans transported in his car. Further, the pilot had not serviced his airplane with aviation gasoline at his home airport.

Atmospheric conditions were conducive to serious icing at descent power and moderate icing at cruise power. The airplane's loss of power when the power setting was low while taxiing and its loss of power when the power was reduced to cruise power after takeoff were both likely due to carburetor icing. A search of the airplane's maintenance records revealed no supplemental type certificate that authorized the use of automobile gasoline in the airplane, and the likelihood of carburetor icing is increased when automobile gasoline is used. While the airplane was equipped with carburetor heat, impact-related damage to the engine controls precluded an assessment of the control's preimpact position.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.