Cessna 182D N61LN

Summary

On 17 November 2012 at about 20:45 local time, a Cessna 182D registered N61LN, operated by McGinnis Myles M, was involved in an accident near Bondurant, Wyoming, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 November 2012 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Bondurant, Wyoming, United States

Coordinates

43.0086, -110.5633

Aircraft

Cessna 182D

Registration

N61LN

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

McGinnis Myles M

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stevensville → Pinedale

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13FA053

1 person died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering around weather.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated pilot departed on a visual flight rules cross-county flight. Visual and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area around the time of the accident. Review of recorded radar data provided by the FAA (which did not record altitude) and recovered GPS data depicted the flight departing and proceeding on a south, southeasterly course then turning left to an easterly heading toward the intended destination; the last recorded radar return was about 1.5 miles northwest of the accident site. Throughout this timeframe, recorded GPS altitudes varied between 8,000 and 12,300 feet, however, an ascent to 13,450 feet mean sea level (msl) was recorded just before the end of recorded GPS data, about 22 miles west of the accident site. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted trees and mountainous terrain on a southwesterly heading just below the top of a ridgeline at an altitude of about 10,030 feet msl. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. AIRMETs for instrument meteorological conditions, mountain obscuration, and moderate icing conditions were in effect throughout the area about the time of the accident. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery indicated that clouds with tops of 16,700 feet msl were within the accident area, however, the cloud bases could not be determined. There was no evidence that the pilot obtained a weather briefing for the flight. Wreckage impact signatures and radar data were consistent with a right turn away from the flight's intended destination just before the accident. It is likely that the pilot did not maintain sufficient altitude above the mountainous terrain while attempting to maneuver around the instrument meteorological conditions at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.