Danny Hall said his 1968 Cessna suffered engine failure and plummeted into the Pawcatuck River Aug. 2. Federal Aviation Administration investigators told him a mouse nest was the cause of the engine trouble, WSFB-TV, Hartford, Conn., reported Wednesday.

Hall, 42, said the investigation found mice had built a nest in the plane that was sucked along with its occupants into the carburetor after he activated a device designed to prevent icing.

The pilot, who suffered only minor injuries from the crash, said there would have been no way to detect the mice and their nest prior to takeoff without opening up the plane completely for an inspection of its innards.