| Crash location | 67.976945°N, 149.752500°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Coldfoot, AK
67.256389°N, 150.184167°W 51.1 miles away |
| Tail number | N8556E |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 15 Aug 2015 |
| Aircraft type | Champion 7HC |
| Additional details: | None |
The pilot was climbing to cross a remote mountain pass when the airplane's engine lost partial power. The pilot turned the airplane to the left and the engine lost total power and started descending very quickly. The pilot attempted to make a forced landing to a road, but did not make it and landed the airplane in an area of rocks and a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage, and a postaccident fire then destroyed the airplane.
Plotting temperature and dew point on a carburetor icing probability chart placed the conditions noted at the time of the accident as being probable for serious carburetor icing in cruise or climb power. The pilot stated that he did not use carburetor heat either during the climb, or after the engine lost power.
The loss of engine power due to carburetor icing and the pilot's failure to recognize conditions favorable for carburetor icing and apply use of carburetor heat.