LEESVILLE, LA, USA
N30327
CESSNA 177A
THE AIRPLANE WAS ON A NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, AND HAD JUST LEVELED OFF AFTER A DESCENT, WHEN THE ENGINE STOPPED PRODUCING POWER. THE PILOT SAID HE WAS ABLE TO START IT TWICE FOR SHORT PERIODS, BUT COULD NOT KEEP IT RUNNING. HE SAID HE HAD PULLED THE CARBURETOR HEAT ON BEFORE STARTING THE DESCENT. DURING THE FORCED LANDING, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES, AND THEN THE TERRAIN. THE ENGINE AND FUEL SYSTEMS WERE INSPECTED BUT THE REASON FOR THE POWER LOSS COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. A REVIEW OF THE ICING PROBABILITY CHART INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS IN AN AREA WHERE SERIOUS ICING COULD HAVE OCCURRED AT GLIDE POWER. LATER, THE ENGINE WAS RUN AT LESS THAN FULL POWER, AND IT OPERATED NORMALLY.
LOSS OF ENGINE POWER FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE ROUGH TREE COVERED TERRAIN IN WHICH THE FORCED LANDING WAS PERFORMED AND THE BRIGHT NIGHT CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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