Cessna 182A N4803D

Summary

On 18 September 1999 at about 23:59 local time, a Cessna 182A registered N4803D, operated by AGS Over Texas, was involved in an accident near Bryan, Texas, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 September 1999 at 23:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Bryan, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Coulter Field (CFD)

Coordinates

30.7992, -96.3094

Aircraft

Cessna 182A

Registration

N4803D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

AGS Over Texas

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Skydiving

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99FA261

5 people died.

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control resulting in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the loss of engine power as a result of fatigue cracking and separation of the #6 cylinder head.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses reported that the single-engine airplane's takeoff and climb appeared to be normal. As the airplane climbed through 400 feet, a puff of black smoke was observed emanating from the right side of the engine compartment. The airplane nosed up slightly, then nosed down turning about 360 degrees before descending rapidly from view. One witness heard the engine start missing before the airplane turned and descended. Continuity was established to all flight controls. Examination of the engine revealed that the #6 cylinder head separated from its cylinder barrel as a result of fatigue cracking originating in the cylinder head threads. When the engine was overhauled about 353.86 hours prior to the accident, 6 Nu-chromed overhauled cylinders were installed. It could not be determined how many hours the cylinders had accumulated nor how many times they had been overhauled. There is no requirement to track cylinder hours or overhaul occurrences.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.