Cessna 180 N38SP

Summary

On 17 June 2006 at about 16:00 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N38SP was involved in an accident near Agness, Oregon, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 June 2006 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Agness, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

42.6842, -123.9303

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N38SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Agness → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA06FA119

4 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a tree and subsequent collision with rocky terrain. A contributing factor was the sun glare.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane departed for a short flight between two private airstrips located less than 1 mile apart on opposite sides of a river in an area of rugged mountainous terrain. A witness at the departure airstrip reported the airplane's takeoff was uneventful. A witness at the destination airstrip reported hearing the airplane fly over heading downstream and stated that it was the pilot's routine before landing fly over. Witnesses, who were river rafting less than 1 mile downstream of the destination airstrip, observed the airplane over fly them heading downstream at an altitude of about 150 feet agl. They reported that the airplane entered a steep left turn, completed approximately 180 degrees of turn, collided with a tree and then impacted rocky terrain on the river bank. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any discrepancies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane. The pilot had a history of allergies, and toxicological testing detected brompheniramine (a sedating antihistamine, available over the counter) in the pilot's blood at .223 ug/ml. The pilot also had a severe color vision deficiency. When the accident occurred, the skies were clear, and the sun was in the east at an altitude of 34.3 degrees above the horizon. As the pilot turned the airplane left from a downstream (southerly) heading to an upstream (northerly) heading, he would have been heading east directly toward the rising sun approximately midway through the turn.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.