Cessna 182C N8721T

Summary

On 6 April 2013 at about 16:45 local time, a Cessna 182C registered N8721T was involved in an accident near Circle, Montana, 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

6 April 2013 at 16:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Circle, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (Pvt)

Coordinates

47.7386, -105.9281

Aircraft

Cessna 182C

Registration

N8721T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1960

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lustre → Acton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13FA183

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control as a result of spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to continue flight into low visibility conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed the private airstrip in visual flight rules conditions and proceeded south for 27 miles toward a small town. While near the town, he made a mobile phone call to a family member and reported that there was fog near the river (along his route of flight) but that it was clear on the other side. The mobile phone connection then dropped, and the pilot made no further communications. The airplane wreckage was located 22 miles south of the town where the pilot made the phone call. Examination of the airplane wreckage revealed damage and ground scars consistent with a high-energy vertical impact, and no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures was found that would have precluded normal operation. The local meteorological observations and satellite imagery indicated that the airplane likely encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), low clouds, and restricted visibility throughout the area about the time of the accident. The pilot had recently received his private pilot certificate, had accumulated 93 hours of total flight time, and did not hold an airplane instrument rating. The IMC combined with the pilot's lack of instrument flight experience likely led to his becoming spatially disoriented, which resulted in the loss of airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.