Cessna 182S N23739

Summary

On 21 July 2011 at about 02:45 local time, a Cessna 182S registered N23739 was involved in an accident near Erwin, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 2011 at 02:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Erwin, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Harnett Regional Jetport (HRJ)

Coordinates

35.3672, -78.7456

Aircraft

Cessna 182S

Registration

N23739

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Meridian → Erwin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ERA11FA412

2 people died.

The pilot’s loss of control due to spatial disorientation while maneuvering in dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 20 minutes after departing on a visual flight rules cross-country flight, the pilot ceased responding to air traffic controllers after being advised to contact the next air traffic control facility. Controllers continued to track the airplane as it flew toward the stated destination airport and then turned toward the airport adjacent to the accident site. The airplane arrived in the vicinity of the airport nearly 1 hour after the end of civil twilight and began maneuvering in the vicinity of the approach end of one of the runways. After performing two 180-degree turns, the airplane entered a steep, descending right turn toward the runway's final approach course. The airplane impacted trees about 1/2 mile from the runway threshold, and the wreckage path roughly aligned with the runway's final approach course. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. The airplane's audio panel microphone selector was found set to a position that would not have allowed the pilot to communicate with controllers or to activate the airport's pilot-controlled runway lighting. A pilot who flew into the airport later that night described that area as a very disorienting "black hole" due to the lack of ground lighting at night. The maneuvering observed as the airplane arrived in the vicinity of the airport suggested that the pilot may have been attempting to activate the airport's pilot-controlled lighting and locate the runway. The pilot was likely unable to activate the lighting due to an inadvertent misconfiguration of the audio panel earlier in the flight. After flying through the final approach course twice, the pilot may have elected to attempt to locate the unlit runway using the airplane's landing light, the airplane's onboard global positioning system receivers, and/or the airport's precision approach path indicator lights as a guide. However, as he turned the airplane toward the dark area located southwest of the runway threshold, he likely experienced spatial disorientation, lost awareness of the airplane's attitude, and allowed it to enter a right descending spiral, which continued to impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.