Cessna R182 N3167C

Summary

On 28 March 2018 at about 17:23 local time, a Cessna R182 registered N3167C was involved in an accident near Ashville, Alabama, 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

28 March 2018 at 17:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Ashville, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

33.8956, -86.1614

Aircraft

Cessna R182

Registration

N3167C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gadsden → New Orleans

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18FA118

1 person died.

Descent and impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed on a day visual flight rules cross-country flight. About 7 miles from the departure airport, he contacted air traffic control (ATC) and requested flight following services, stating that he was climbing from 700 ft mean sea level (msl) (about 131 ft above ground level) to 2,500 ft msl. The controller issued the pilot a discrete transponder code and the pilot acknowledged; however, there were no further communications with the pilot. The pilot was reported missing by family members when he did not arrive at his destination, and the wreckage was located 2 days later in heavily-wooded, level terrain. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology testing identified tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its primary metabolite in liver, kidney, and lung specimens. While this indicated that the pilot had used marijuana at some point before the flight, without results from a blood specimen, it could not be determined when he used it or whether it may have had impairing effects at the time of the accident. A coworker of the pilot stated that he and the pilot were working into the early morning on the day of the accident and he believed the pilot did not have much, if any, sleep before departing on the accident flight. The pilot's communications with ATC suggest that the flight up to that point had been routine, and the reason for the airplane's descent and impact with terrain could not be determined. Additionally, there was insufficient evidence to determine whether fatigue, impairment, or incapacitation may have contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.