Cessna 182 N5816B

Summary

On 8 July 2014 at about 15:07 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N5816B, operated by John R. Ciliberti, was involved in an accident near Fall City, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2014 at 15:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Fall City, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Fall City (1WA6)

Coordinates

47.5586, -121.8781

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N5816B

Category

Airplane

Year built

1956

Engines

1

Operator

John R. Ciliberti

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fall City → Snohomish

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14FA286

1 person died.

The pilot’s decision to depart in low-ceiling conditions and his continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot intended to reposition the airplane for maintenance to an airport about 23 nautical miles north-northwest of the departure airport. Low ceilings and fog were predominant in the area, with treetops on the adjacent golf course to the west obscured by fog. At the time of departure, the ceiling at the airport was most likely low, but the pilot elected to depart. Recovered GPS data revealed that, immediately after taking off to the west, the pilot turned to the north toward rising terrain. The pilot then, most likely after encountering a low ceiling, started a left turn, during which the airplane ascended to an altitude of about 515 ft. About 16 seconds after starting the left turn, the airplane had descended to an altitude of about 217 feet and was heading south. The airplane then began to climb, and, 10 seconds later, the airplane had reached an altitude of 577 ft; it then began to descend and reached an altitude of 404 ft 7 seconds later, still on a southerly heading. The descent continued, and, 3 seconds later, the last recorded data point revealed that the airplane was at an altitude of 135 ft and a groundspeed of 124 knots on a southwesterly heading. The airplane subsequently impacted a tree on the golf course, traveled about 200 feet on a westerly heading before impacting a second tree, and came to rest about 60 feet west of the second tree in the middle of a fairway. Multiple witnesses on the golf course reported that the airplane was flying low on a southerly heading and that they heard the engine surge just before impact. All airplane components necessary for flight were accounted for at the accident site. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot likely took off and then realized that the ceiling was too low and the fog too dense for safe flight and attempted to return to the airport. The engine surge likely occurred as the pilot saw the tree just before impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.