Cessna 182P N52621

Summary

On 10 May 2007 at about 19:20 local time, a Cessna 182P registered N52621, operated by Samuel L. White, was involved in an accident near Traer, Iowa, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 May 2007 at 19:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Traer, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

42.1992, -92.4581

Aircraft

Cessna 182P

Registration

N52621

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Samuel L. White

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rapid City → Worthington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA136

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing on the grass airstrip. A contributing factor was the pilot's limited experience operating on grass runways. Additional factors were the runway cone struck during landing and the irrigation ditch encountered during the runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was substantially damaged when it departed the runway (2,555 feet by 100 feet, turf) during landing and encountered an irrigation ditch. The pilot reported that after takeoff he intended to track a Very-High-Frequency Omni Range (VOR) navigation station to an intermediate fuel stop before continuing to his final destination. About 4 hours into the flight he attempted to contact air traffic control in order to verify his position; however, he was unable to establish contact. At that point, he began "to lose confidence in [his] present position" and decided to establish a heading he believed was toward his intermediate fuel stop. After an additional hour of flight, he became concerned about his remaining fuel and contacted a Flight Service Station (FSS). He informed them that he was "lost and short on fuel." The FSS located the flight and provided vectors to a nearby alternate airport. Upon landing at the alternate airport "the aircraft went into a skid, hit a runway cone and came to a stop across from the end of the runway. Just a few feet beyond [an] irrigation ditch." The pilot noted that he did not have experience landing on grass runways. The pilot did not indicate any failures or malfunctions associated with the aircraft's flight control system or engine. He did note the possibility of an "intermittent radio transmission failure" as a possible factor contributing to his becoming lost prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.