Cessna 182L N3181R

Summary

On 26 January 2015 at about 16:44 local time, a Cessna 182L registered N3181R was involved in an accident near Owen, Wisconsin, United States. 3 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 January 2015 at 16:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Owen, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

44.9881, -90.5275

Aircraft

Cessna 182L

Registration

N3181R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Menominee → Litchfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15FA119

1 person died.

The flight instructor's decision to initiate flight into forecasted icing conditions in an airplane that was not certified or equipped for flight into icing conditions, which resulted in significant structural ice accumulation to the extent that the airplane was unable to maintain altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident occurred on the third leg of a multi-leg cross-county trip that the flight instructor and the student pilot were making to relocate the airplane, which the student pilot had recently purchased. The flight instructor stated that, before beginning the flight, he obtained a weather briefing indicating icing conditions along the route of flight, but he thought they would be able to get above the weather. Although the airplane was not certified or equipped to fly into icing conditions, the flight instructor elected to initiate the flight. While en route, the airplane accumulated airframe ice despite the flight instructor making several altitude changes in an attempt to reach warmer temperatures. The airplane eventually accumulated enough ice that it was no longer capable of maintaining altitude, which resulted in the flight instructor making an off-airport emergency landing on a country road. The airplane's windshield was iced over restricting the pilot's forward visibility, and during the landing roll, the airplane contacted trees. A postaccident examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed the presence of rime ice on the top and bottom wing surfaces. Additionally, several pieces of concave-shaped ice ranging from 1.5-inches- to 7-inches-long and from 1.5-inches- to 2-inches-wide were located around the accident site. An examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.