Cessna 182 N97596

Summary

On 6 November 2019 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N97596, operated by Aero-Sphere Inc, was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado, 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

6 November 2019 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Broomfield, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (BJC)

Coordinates

39.9089, -105.1172

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N97596

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Aero-Sphere Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Longmont

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

Unk

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA20CA075

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadvertent flight into icing conditions, which resulted in the accumulation of structural icing and an aerodynamic stall.   

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while operating in instrument meteorological conditions, the airplane started accumulating ice on the wings and windshield. He informed air traffic control (ATC) and requested to be diverted. ATC vectored him to a nearby airport for an instrument approach. Following completion of the instrument approach, while the airplane was about 10 ft above ground level, the airplane stalled and then landed hard on the runway. The pilot taxied the airplane to the ramp without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25B, provides information and guidance in a section titled, "Stalls," which stated, in part, that "as little as 0.8 millimeter of ice on the upper wing surface increases drag and reduces aircraft lift by 25 percent."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.