An aero commander 100 (darter) lost engine power while climbing through 2;000 ft. The pilot turned t...

Narrative:

I had over flown an airport at approximately 1;200 ft MSL underneath a nearby AFB class C airspace. When I cleared the airspace; I began a climb. At approximately 2;000 ft MSL; the engine began to run roughly and would only achieve 2;000 RPM. Carburetor heat was applied with temporary improvement. With leaning; the engine continued to run but would only maintain 2;000 RPM. A 180 degree turn was made toward the nearby civilian airport. I decided not to descend to maintain clearance from military class C airspace because I was not sure I would be able to glide to the civilian airport if the engine failed. I had entered class C airspace before I had an opportunity to obtain the frequency for approach. I contacted approach; informed them of my difficulty and declared an emergency. I made an uneventful landing at the civilian airport where I was met by 2 aircraft mechanics. They determined that my cable leading to my carburetor box had loosened allowing the flap to restrict airflow to the engine. Coincidentally it was discovered that an exhaust pipe had cracked and the exhaust gases had begun to burn my cowling.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Aero Commander 100 (Darter) lost engine power while climbing through 2;000 FT. The pilot turned to a nearby airport; but entered Military Class C airspace while conserving altitude. He declared an emergency with the TRACON and landed safely where the carburetor heat cable was found loose.

Narrative: I had over flown an airport at approximately 1;200 FT MSL underneath a nearby AFB Class C airspace. When I cleared the airspace; I began a climb. At approximately 2;000 FT MSL; the engine began to run roughly and would only achieve 2;000 RPM. Carburetor heat was applied with temporary improvement. With leaning; the engine continued to run but would only maintain 2;000 RPM. A 180 degree turn was made toward the nearby civilian airport. I decided not to descend to maintain clearance from Military Class C airspace because I was not sure I would be able to glide to the civilian airport if the engine failed. I had entered Class C airspace before I had an opportunity to obtain the frequency for Approach. I contacted Approach; informed them of my difficulty and declared an emergency. I made an uneventful landing at the civilian airport where I was met by 2 aircraft mechanics. They determined that my cable leading to my carburetor box had loosened allowing the flap to restrict airflow to the engine. Coincidentally it was discovered that an exhaust pipe had cracked and the exhaust gases had begun to burn my cowling.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1024640
Time
Date	201206
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Aero Commmander 100 Series
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Carburetor Heat Control
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Airspace Violation All Types

An aero commander 100 (darter) lost engine power while climbing through 2;000 ft. The pilot turned to a nearby airport; but entered military class C airspace while conserving altitude. He declared an emergency with the TRACON and landed safely where the carburetor heat cable was found loose.