Carburetor Icing

[Yellow & Blue Baron]

In this video, the man is saying there is a problem with carburetor icing.

How does this react in a fixed wing piston and what could this pilot have done to avoid a forced landing?

Utah Plane Crash Captured on Cell Phone by Passenger -ORIGINAL FOOTAGE- - YouTube

[flarepilot]

wow

while I heard the words spoken about carb icing...the conditions looked so very dry I'm really wondering if it was carb icing...high humidity is usually a part of the component.

also...there seemed to be a very nice road that could have been the place to land the plane and it would have remained right side up.

I'm glad they are ok, but carb heat should have fixed things if it was used and was working properly IF IT WAS CARB ICE

but it might not have been carb ice

and no radio distress call? the talker was talking but not sending out a mayday.

[India Four Two]

NTSB report here:
WPR13LA108

Post accident video here:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5sCsIxwMoFw

[flyboyike]

That should buff right out.

[Yellow & Blue Baron]

Originally Posted by flarepilot

wow

while I heard the words spoken about carb icing...the conditions looked so very dry I'm really wondering if it was carb icing...high humidity is usually a part of the component.

also...there seemed to be a very nice road that could have been the place to land the plane and it would have remained right side up.

I'm glad they are ok, but carb heat should have fixed things if it was used and was working properly.

That's what I thought.

India Four Two - Thanks for posting the NTSB report and the additioal video.

So basically, if you fly a piston fixed wing in cold weather you are risking your life, is this the case?

[Pratt X 3]

So basically, if you fly a piston fixed wing in cold weather you are risking your life, is this the case?

You risk your life getting out of bed every morning, if you managed to survive the night. No one gets out alive, when it comes to living. The secret to prolonging your time on Earth is to be able to identify the risks and mitigate as much danger out of them as you can while still enjoying life. Cold weather flying is not any more dangerous than warm weather flying as long as you know how to deal with the situations unique to the climate you are in.

[flarepilot]

prattx3 there are fixed wing piston planes with fuel injection and NO carburetor ice.

I don't know what happened...maybe carb heat wasn't working 100percent...no visible moisture though dew pint was within 10...

carb heat on, adjust mixture and throttle to achieve some power

but I sure would have gone towards thatnice road

[Trim Stab]

I don't believe that **** is real. Real Americans would all have been screaming and telling each other "I love you" and promising that they will look after little Timmy who is dying of cancer when you're gone. The when the plane crashed it would have blown up in a huge fireball, but Tom Cruise or somebody would have turned up and rescued them all, and then he would have got married to the girl. Can't believe you people think that is "carburettor icing" lol.

[pigboat]

So basically, if you fly a piston fixed wing in cold weather you are risking your life, is this the case?

Not at all. I've flown single engine normally aspirated aircraft at temperatures below -40 with no problems. At temperatures below -20 there is little moisture in the air so carb ice is less of a problem than you may suppose. From memory, the worst temps for carb ice are from -10 to +10, and where the temperature and dew point are within a few degrees of each other. This indicates the air is near the saturation point, so you should carry enough carb heat to preclude icing. Every normally aspirated airplane I ever flew had a carb air temperature gauge, so you applied carb heat to keep the induction air at, I seem to remember, +5 degrees. If your engine is fuel injected, carb ice ceases to be a problem - no carburetor - but you could still experience induction system icing when flying in conditions of visible moisture, i.e. snow. This is why some manufacturers call for the application of alternate air when flying in visible moisture at temperatures below + 5 or so, Alternate air is simply air that is taken from inside the cowling instead of from the ram air source.

The major problem flying a piston powered aircraft in extreme cold is the inability to maintain a decent cylinder head temperature. Most bush aircraft have a winter kit that can be installed on the front of the cowling to restrict airflow over the cylinders and through the oil cooler. This is all I can find after a quick search. This one is for an early version of the C-150. Later ones are two piece affairs and the slots are horizontal..


The Beaver is equipped with a full front shutter that can be adjusted from the cockpit. Here's what it looks like.


The Otter has a little skull-cap affair that fits over the propeller gear casing on the front of the engine but no shutter. On both the Otter and the Beaver a circle of felt material can be fitted into the oil cooler intake in extreme temperatures to partially block the cold airflow. I have flown the Otter with cylinder head temperatures as low as 120 degrees F which is barely in the green. According to the engine manufacturer there would be no damage to the engine as log as the oil temperature was normal.

[Yellow & Blue Baron]

Originally Posted by Trim Stab

Can't believe you people think that is "carburettor icing" lol.

And yet the NTSB report cites: "A loss of engine power during cruise flight due to carburetor ice."

Pigboat - Thank you for your very informative response. Really appreciated.