NTSB: Carburetor Ice Led To Plane Landing On 495
MANSFIELD (AP -- Federal transportation investigators say the single-engine plane that landed on Interstate 495 in Mansfield last year lost power because of carburetor icing after the pilot delayed use of carburetor heat.
The National Transportation Safety Board's probable cause report found no mechanical problems with the 35-year-old Piper Cherokee that landed on the southeastern Massachusetts highway in the late morning of Sept. 1, 2009.
Neither pilot nor passenger was hurt, but police shut down three lanes of the roadway for several hours.
The NTSB report, according to The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, said the engine started to "sputter and run rough" while the pilot was practicing stall maneuvers.
The engine then quit, and the pilot could not get it restarted.
The report praised the pilot for avoiding vehicles on the highway.
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