Cessna 150F N7854F accident near Tillamook, Oregon

Probable cause

The partial loss of engine power during climb to cruise due to carburetor icing and the pilot's delay in using carburetor heat.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that as he configured the airplane in a level attitude for cruise flight, the engine's rpm began to decrease and he applied carburetor heat with no effect noted. The pilot subsequently turned the airplane back towards the airport to land. As he approached the runway, he had raise the airplane's nose in an effort to avoid an airport perimeter fence. The airplane stalled and impacted soft terrain short of the runway. The airplane came to rest inverted; the aft fuselage and the vertical stabilizer were bent. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact anomalies with the engine or airframe that would have prevented normal operation. The temperature and dewpoint at the time of the flight were both 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Plotting these temperatures on a carburetor icing chart indicated the conditions were conducive to serious icing at cruise power.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR10LA168 for the full record.