January 19, 2012, Springfield, Tenn., Cessna 172I Skyhawk

The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following loss of engine power at about 1455 Central time. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. While descending through 2100 feet msl for his destination, the pilot configured the airplane for landing by reducing engine power to about 1500 rpm and setting the mixture to full rich. He did not activate carburetor heat.

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An airplane suffered substantial damage during a forced landing after a sudden loss of engine power, though the commercial pilot was uninjured.
The engine power loss occurred after the pilot reduced power for landing and set the mixture to full rich, but failed to activate carburetor heat, leading to symptoms of fuel starvation.
The landing in a field concluded with the nose landing gear striking a ditch during rollout, causing the airplane to nose over.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following loss of engine power at about 1455 Central time. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

While descending through 2100 feet msl for his destination, the pilot configured the airplane for landing by reducing engine power to about 1500 rpm and setting the mixture to full rich. He did not activate carburetor heat. The engine then “suddenly acted as though it were starved for fuel.” The pilot subsequently landed the airplane on the downward slope of a field at around 60 knots. During the rollout, the nose landing gear struck a ditch and the airplane nosed over.