Cessna 182 N8905X

Summary

On 13 March 2019 at about 22:10 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N8905X was involved in an accident near Brevard, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 March 2019 at 22:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Brevard, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Transylvania Community (3NR3)

Coordinates

35.2697, -82.6436

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N8905X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brevard → Asheville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19LA131

Nobody was injured.

The mechanic's failure to notice that the left front seat left front roller housing disengaged from the seat rail during recent maintenance, and the pilot's failure to detect the disengaged roller housing during the preflight inspection, which resulted in the seat sliding backward during takeoff and a subsequent loss of airplane directional control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot performed a preflight inspection after the airplane had undergone maintenance and no anomalies were noted. He boarded the airplane, adjusted the seat, and then verified that it was locked in position. Shortly after beginning the takeoff roll, his seat slid backward. He was unable to reach the rudder pedals, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Examination revealed that the pilot seat’s left front roller housing was disengaged from the seat rail. The seat rail exhibited scoring on top of the rail, which likely occurred during the accident sequence. No scoring was noted on the sides of the rail. The roller housing was not splayed or damaged, indicating that it did not pull off the rail during the accident sequence. Although the seat rail holes were slightly worn, the pin did not exhibit any anomalies. The mechanic stated that he did not remove the pilot's seat to perform the maintenance that he completed before the accident flight; however, given the lack of side damage to the rails and the fact that the left front seat roller housing was not splayed, it is likely that the roller housing came off the rails during the maintenance and went unnoticed by both the mechanic and the pilot, which resulted in the seat sliding backward during takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.