Cessna T182T N1880B

Summary

On 10 June 2018 at about 17:01 local time, a Cessna T182T registered N1880B was involved in an accident near Monroe, Wisconsin, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 June 2018 at 17:01

Classification

Accident

Location

Monroe, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Monroe Municipal (EFT)

Coordinates

42.6278, -89.5975

Aircraft

Cessna T182T

Registration

N1880B

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kenosha → Monroe

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18FA216

4 people died.

Spatial disorientation resulting in a loss of control during the missed approach conducted in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to execute an instrument approach in weather conditions that were below the approach minimums.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a personal, cross-country flight. Upon arrival at the destination airport, air traffic control (ATC) cleared the pilot for a GPS approach. The controller instructed the pilot to change to the airport common traffic advisory frequency after passing the initial approach fix. The pilot acknowledged, after which point no further communications were received. The available ATC data depicted the airplane tracking the final approach course until radar contact was lost less than 2 miles from the runway due to routine radar coverage limitations. Radar contact with the airplane was not regained. Low instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and the cloud ceiling was below the minimum descent altitude for the approach. A witness heard the airplane immediately before the accident and described the sound as similar to an airplane performing aerobatic maneuvers. She subsequently observed a "fireball" through an opening in the tree line behind her home and immediately heard an explosion. The accident site was located about 1/2 mile north of the runway departure threshold. Postaccident airframe and engine examinations did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. The investigation was unable to determine whether the autopilot was engaged during the flight. However, the precise flight track and course intercepts depicted by the position data are consistent with extended portions of the flight, including the initial portion of the approach, being flown by the autopilot. While the published missed approach procedure included a left turn, the location of the accident site in relation to the runway indicated that a right turn was executed during the missed approach. This revealed that the pilot was not using the course guidance from the autopilot and was either using the autopilot in heading mode or was flying the airplane manually. Based on the witness description of an airplane performing aerobatics, it is likely that the pilot was flying the airplane manually. Furthermore, it is probable that the airplane remained in instrument meteorological conditions during the approach and missed approach phases of the flight. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot became spatially disoriented during the missed approach which resulted in a loss of airplane control and impact with the trees and terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.