Winter flying

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

My friends daughter crashed his Cesna 172 a couple of weeks ago. Luckily she walked away but the plane was totalled. The FAA is doing an investigation but I suspect, by the way the plane was loosing power, that her problem might been icing in the carburator. The accident might have been prevented if she thought to engage carb heat. She is only 15 years old.

20 hours? Kinda young to be flying solo.... adult judgement plays a big part in getting out of critical situations. I get it that she walked away... that may have been her only chance. I’m sure she was trained in all sorrs of critical situations and when to apply carb heat is certainly one of them.

Lucky girl.






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[Tom Flanigan]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;322632]20 hours? Kinda young to be flying solo.... adult judgement plays a big part in getting out of critical situations. I get it that she walked away... that may have been her only chance. I’m sure she was trained in all sorrs of critical situations and when to apply carb heat is certainly one of them.

Lucky girl.


She is young, but she was well trained and was flying solo on a training flight.

She picked the only spot where she could have survived a crash, the sparse area under high tension wires surrounded by tall woods and hills. She kept her head and somehow got the failing plane under control enough to make the landing in a very daunting area. Seeing the crash area, I was amazed that she was able to land where she did. Her father, despite the airplane loss, is very proud of her and rightfully so.

Carb heat is something that could be forgotten by someone not reading what his engine is telling him. I was flying with a friend in a J-5 Cub and he was losing airspeed and responded with more throttle. I screamed at him carb heat and the problem went away.

As for her young age, it all depends, like guns, on the maturity of the individual. I started my son flying when he was 14. He never had an incident. The only incident I ever had was when I foolishly took off with an overloaded airplane. In retrospect, it was a very foolish thing to do. I ignored the basics and almost paid the ultimate price.

I’m hoping my friend will replace the 172 with a 182. It’s a much safer airplane to fly on our somewhat limited airstrip.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash but, as Richard mentions, it will be at least two years before we know anything definitive.




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