Amateur-built Lightning accident near Woodland, Washington, May 1, 2019
On May 1, 2019 at about 5:30 pm local time, a 2011 amateur-built Lightning, registered N106AL, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Woodland, Washington (Woodland State Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A complete loss of engine power due to carburetor icing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 1, 2019 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Woodland, Washington · Woodland State Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Lightning, built 2011
- Registration
- N106AL · registry record · serial 111
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that after an uneventful flight in an experimental airplane he set up for landing. At about 1,200 feet he reduced the throttle to idle, turned on the carburetor heat, and entered the traffic pattern. After turning final, when the pilot began to reach for the throttle, the propeller stopped spinning. The engine had lost complete power, with no engine roughness or abnormal noises. Since the airplane was about 50 ft above the ground, the pilot continued to land onto the runway. The airplane bounced and when it touched back down, the airplane departed the left side of the runway. The pilot redirected the airplane back toward the runway surface, but the nose gear collapsed on the rough grass. The nearest weather reporting station indicated temperature 13°C, dewpoint 4°C. Review of the Carburetor Icing Probability Chart revealed that, given the temperature and dewpoint, the conditions were on the line between serious icing at glide power and serious icing at cruise power. During a telephone conversation the pilot reported that the carburetor heat system takes hot air from near the muffler to keep the carburetor from icing up. It is likely that the carburetor accumulated ice while in cruise flight and the carburetor heat, when applied when the pilot reduced the throttle to idle, was not sufficient to remove the carburetor ice which resulted in a loss of engine power.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Other weather encounter during landing
- Loss of engine power (total) during landing defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Temp/humidity/pressure › Conducive to carburetor icing › Effect on operation
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Ice/rain protection system › Intake anti › ice, deice › Capability exceeded
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 830 hours in all; 79 in this make and model
- Last flight review: September 28, 2017
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 458 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, November 12, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 1,525 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jabiru 3300 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S50 Auburn WA at 4:45 pm
- Destination: W27 Woodland WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 1,953 ft by 25 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from SPB, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR19LA132.