Cessna 182R N9706E

Summary

On 14 January 1995 at about 19:36 local time, a Cessna 182R registered N9706E was involved in an accident near Wrightwood, 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

14 January 1995 at 19:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Wrightwood, California, United States

Coordinates

34.3607, -117.6107

Aircraft

Cessna 182R

Registration

N9706E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Upland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95FA078

3 people died.

the pilot's loss of aircraft control and subsequent inadvertent stall/spin following an encounter with a localized mountain wave condition and turbulence while conducting a search mission in close proximity to mountainous terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A CIVIL AIR PATROL (CAP) CREW WAS CONDUCTING A SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. AFTER 40 MINUTES OF FLIGHT TIME, THE PILOT REPORTED 'OPS NORMAL' TO CAP OPERATIONS. ANOTHER AIRCRAFT, WHICH WAS CONDUCTING A GRID SEARCH IN AN ADJACENT AREA, REPORTED HEARING AN ELT SIGNAL 25 MINUTES LATER. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT BY RADIO WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. LOCALIZED WEATHER CONDITIONS WITH STRONG WINDS, DOWNDRAFTS, AND TURBULENCE WERE NOTED BY OTHER SEARCH AIRCRAFT AND PILOT WITNESSES FLYING IN THE AREA AT THE TIME. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED NEAR THE CREST OF A RIDGE AND WAS FOUND ORIENTED VERTICALLY TO THE HORIZON. EXTENSIVE AND FULL SPAN REARWARD LEADING EDGE CRUSH DEFORMATION WAS OBSERVED ON BOTH WINGS. NO AIRFRAME OR ENGINE DISCREPANCIES WERE FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.