Cessna 152 N6182U

Summary

On 28 June 2003 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N6182U was involved in an accident near Mt. Charleston, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 2003 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mt. Charleston, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

36.2578, -115.6489

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N6182U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → Reno

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA214

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and selection of the wrong route of flight, which led the airplane toward rising terrain in excess of the performance capability of the airplane. Also causal was the pilot's delayed decision to divert her route of flight. Contributing factors were the high density altitude, and the rapidly rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted trees and a pole during a turn when the pilot turned away from rising terrain. During a turn to gain altitude, the air traffic controller queried the pilot and asked if she saw the road below. The controller advised the pilot that most pilots follow that road to her next checkpoint. A few minutes after turning toward the road, air traffic control advised that they had lost radar contact. The pilot continued to climb while following the road. As the airspeed continued to decrease, the pilot added 10 degrees of flaps. The pilot turned the airplane to the left in an attempt to avoid a stall. The left wing clipped a telephone pole and trees came through the windshield. A post accident examination revealed no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane or engine. Performance calculations indicated that the terrain along the pilots ground track rose in excess of the performance capability of the airplane, and that a climb above the rising terrain was not possible during the duration of the flight. The density altitude at 8,000 feet msl was 11,660 feet. United States Highway 95 runs in a northwesterly direction through a wide 4,000 foot msl valley between mountain ranges and toward the pilot's intended checkpoint; Nevada State Highway 157 runs in a westerly direction into the Spring Mountain range with peaks that have elevations over 10,000 feet. The pilot followed Highway 157.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.