The pilot reported that he had completed a cross-country flight reenacting
the airmail route. During the flight, the pilot had applied

carburetor heat, but the engine lost power. He attempted to restart the
engine, but was unsuccessful; he then performed a forced landing

in a field. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a tree and
sustained substantial damage. While the pilot had purchased

the engine and carburetor that were over 60 years old, they were in new
condition and had been in storage. A maintenance facility bench

tested the carburetor and it checked within limits, but due to its pristine
condition it was not disassembled prior to installation on

the engine. The carburetor operated for 110 hours before disintegrating
gasket material entered into the main fuel jet and disrupted the

fuel flow, which allowed the engine to lose power. Postaccident examination
of the carburetor showed that after the gasket material was

removed from the jet the carburetor operated normally.

Updated at Mar 23 2009 11:10AM

No Obscuration; No Precipitation

14

240 / 012 Kts

8.00 SM

8000 Ft. AGL, Overcast

Visual Conditions

Weather Observation Facility

Day

0 0 0

0 0 1

Off Airport/Airstrip

Pascoe, WA

Portland, OR

Part 91: General Aviation

Personal

None

1

Substantial

P & W / R-985 SERIES

Stearman Acft / C3-B

File No. 24967 09/20/2008 Stevenson, WA Aircraft Reg No. N3440 Time (Local):
09:45 PDT

SEA08LA206

03/23/2009

Accident