Cessna 182P N5831J

Summary

On 13 January 1990 at about 04:37 local time, a Cessna 182P registered N5831J, operated by Grice, Thomas G., was involved in an accident near Tom's Place, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 January 1990 at 04:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Tom's Place, California, United States

Coordinates

37.5007, -118.3101

Aircraft

Cessna 182P

Registration

N5831J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Grice, Thomas G.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Compton → Mammoth Lake

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

DEN90FA041

3 people died.

CONTINUED FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE ABOVE THE GROUND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARK NIGHT, ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, SELF INDUCED PRESSURE, AND SPATIAL DISORIENTATION.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT HAD A CABIN NR MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES ARPT & OFTEN FLEW THERE ON WEEKENDS. WHILE ON A NGT FLT, HE COMMUNICATED WITH AN OUTBOUND CARGO PLT, WHO WARNED OF HVY SNW FALL & POOR VIS AT THE ARPT. WHILE CONVERSING, THE PLT OF N5831J REPLIED, 'OH DEAR, MY CAR IS UP THERE.' THE CARGO PLT AGAIN WARNED THAT HE DOUBTED IF N5831J COULD LND AT THE ARPT. A WORKER, WHO LEFT THE ARPT AT 2030 PST, NOTED THE RWY LGTS CAME ON AS HE WAS DRIVING HOME. HE BELIEVED THE LGTS WERE ACTIVATED BY A PLT (BY KEYING THE MIKE 5 TIMES ON UNICOM FREQ). THREE WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT (OR ACFT LGTS) AT ABOUT THE TIME IT CRASHED. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A LEFT WING LOW, NOSE DWN ATTITUDE. ONE WITNESS THOUGHT THE ACFT WAS TURNING OR ARCING WHEN IT CRASHED. ANOTHER WITNESS ESTIMATED THERE WAS A 100' CEILING WITH SNW FALLING ON A DARK NGT. IMPACT WAS ABOUT 1 MI FM A HIWAY BTN MAMMOTH LAKES & BISHOP, CA (ABT 10 MI SE OF MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES ARPT & 17 MI NW OF BISHOP ARPT). NO PREIMPACTPART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FND. THERE WAS NO PUBLISHED INST APCH PROC AT MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES ARPT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.