Piper J3C-65 Cub, G-NCUB, 8 October 2009
Piper J3C-65 Cub, G-NCUB
Summary:
After conducting a practice landing at a farm strip the pilot put the aircraft into a climb. At approximately 800 ft the engine had a partial loss of power. The pilot immediately selected carburettor heat but there appeared to be no response from the engine, so she decided to carry out a forced landing. She chose a field but at the last minute decided not to land there as it appeared to be too small. The pilot stretched the glide into another more suitable field and landed heavily, damaging the propeller and landing gear. No detailed examination of the engine or engine systems was carried out, however a weather aftercast was obtained from the Met Office for the Ledbury area for the mid afternoon of 8 October. The aftercast gave air temperature, dew point and humidity from the surface to 920 ft. When these figures were plotted on the Civil Aviation Authority’s Carburettor Icing Prediction Chart, published in Safety Sense Leaflet No 14, it gave a prognosis that serious carburettor icing could occur at any power setting between the surface and 920 ft above sea level.
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