Cessna 182T N6197H

Summary

On 9 May 2013 at about 18:15 local time, a Cessna 182T registered N6197H, operated by Spinks Flight Center, was involved in an accident near Fredericksburg, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 May 2013 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Fredericksburg, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Gillespie County Municipal (T82)

Coordinates

30.2394, -98.8850

Aircraft

Cessna 182T

Registration

N6197H

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Spinks Flight Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Worth → Fredericksburg

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13FA269

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while transitioning from instrument to visual flight while still in instrument conditions, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot obtained an abbreviated weather briefing and departed on a cross-country flight. While en route, an air traffic controller queried the pilot if he had the current weather information for his destination airport. The pilot acknowledged that he did. The pilot then requested vectors for a VOR DME-A instrument approach, but the controller was unable to give vectors and cleared the pilot direct to the initial approach fix (the VOR). The controller then informed the pilot that he was "constantly" 300-400 feet below his assigned altitude and reissued the local altimeter setting before clearing him for the approach. About a minute later, the pilot canceled his instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan when he was about 3-4 miles north of the VOR. The controller acknowledged the cancellation and approved a frequency change. There were no further communications or transmissions between the pilot and air traffic control. A review of radar data revealed that the airplane traveled on a southerly heading toward the VOR. An airport employee heard the pilot announce over the UNICOM frequency that he was crossing over the VOR and transitioning from IFR to visual flight rules flight; however, the weather at the airport was reported to be 1.5 miles visibility. A witness saw the airplane flying very slowly toward the airport about 200 feet above the ground when the engine suddenly stopped. The witness lost sight of the airplane but did see a plume of black smoke a few moments later. The airplane impacted terrain about 1 mile east-southeast of the airport in a nose-low attitude, consistent with a stall/spin. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine found no preaccident mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Although a witness reported that the engine stopped, there was no evidence during postaccident examinations corroborating this. It is likely that the pilot, during his transition from instrument to visual flight while still in instrument conditions, did not ensure that the airplane maintained adequate airspeed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.