Probable cause
The pilot's delayed application of carburetor heat while operating in conditions conducive to carburetor icing.
NTSB analysis
The pilot reported that the airplane's engine began to run rough during level flight, with about a 70 percent power setting. He switched fuel tanks and applied carburetor heat, but the airplane's engine continued to run rough. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a cornfield during night light conditions. Postaccident examinations of the airplane revealed that the firewall was buckled. No anomalies were found with regard to the airplane, engine, or systems during the postaccident examinations. According to the Federal Aviation Administration icing probability chart, the airplane was operating in conditions conducive to carburetor icing at the time of the accident.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN11CA660 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 31, 2011
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Sugar Creek, Ohio
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Night
Cessna 175
- N-number
- N7103M
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.