CESSNA 182

Full Narrative

On October 15, 2021, about 1500 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182Q, N759AC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fire Island, New York. The pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

According to the pilot, he was conducting an “introductory” flight for the two passengers around Long Island, New York. He reported departing with 64 gallons of fuel onboard. He stated that he was flying in cruise flight about 1,200 ft mean sea level when the engine started to lose power. He checked the fuel selector to confirm it was in BOTH position and verified the mixture control was full forward, but the engine experienced a total loss of power. He applied carburetor heat, unsuccessfully tried to restart the engine two times, and then performed a forced landing on a beach near Fire Island National Seashore. The pilot further stated he made a normal landing on the beach, however, during the landing roll, the airplane contacted a hump in the sand. The nose landing gear collapsed, which resulted in the propeller and right wing contacting the ground.

Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed substantial damage to the right wing. The propeller was rotated by hand through 360° of motion, and crankshaft and valvetrain continuity were established to the rear accessory case. The magneto timing was checked and found to be within limits. The spark plugs were removed and exhibited normal wear and proper gap. The compression leak down test was satisfactory on all cylinders.

The airplane’s maintenance logbooks could not be located.

At 1456, the weather reported at Long Island Mac Arthur Airport (ISP), about 9 nautical miles north of the accident site, included a temperature of 25°C and a dew point 16°C. The calculated relative humidity at this temperature and dewpoint was 57 percent. The carburetor icing probability chart from FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB): CE-09-35 Carburetor Icing Prevention, showed a probability of serious icing at glide power.