NTSB Factual Report

On August 14, 2007, approximately 1200 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182P, N52581, impacted the terrain during a power-off forced landing near the approach end of runway 11 at Nampa Municipal Airport, Nampa, Idaho. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, which departed Kalispell, Montana, about three hours prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. The pilot had been on a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan. There was no report of an ELT activation.

According to the pilot, after turning base he advanced the throttle, but the engine had suddenly lost all power. Because he could not reach the runway, the pilot landed in a flat open field off the approach end of the runway. Although the initial touchdown was uneventful, during the rollout, the aircraft encountered an earthen berm and sustained substantial damage.

A post-accident inspection found that a significant portion of the carburetor throat was clogged with strips of paint that had pealed off of the induction air inlet channel aft of the air filter. It was determined that the aircraft had been repainted approximately four months prior to the accident, and an inspection of the air inlet channel revealed other large areas of partially pealed paint. According to the aircraft manufacturer, the surface of the inlet channel aft of the filter is not painted during the manufacturing process, and it should not be painted when new paint is applied to the airframe structure.

NTSB Probable Cause

The total loss of engine power due to the carburetor throat becoming obstructed with paint that had pealed off of the induction air inlet channel in an area where paint should not have been applied. Factors include an earthen berm running across the field where the pilot made his forced landing.