Cessna 182Q N97843

Summary

On 12 April 1995 at about 13:15 local time, a Cessna 182Q registered N97843 was involved in an accident near Bumping Lake, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 April 1995 at 13:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Bumping Lake, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.8792, -121.2896

Aircraft

Cessna 182Q

Registration

N97843

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Yakima

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

Unk

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC95GA048

1 person died.

A loss of engine power for an undetermined reason. Factors relating to the accident were: lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing in mountains, low ambient temperatures that contributed to hypothermia, the lack of survival equipment, an erratic ELT signal due to a faulty tuning crystal, and the lack of discrete transponder data to assist in the search.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot, a civil air patrol (CAP) volunteer, was on a CAP flight for proficiency training and to conduct business. The VFR cross-country flight was planned over mountainous terrain. The pilot obtained a weather briefing that included information about icing conditions along the planned route. During the flight, no communication was received from the pilot other than activation of his flight plan after departing the airport. The airplane was reported overdue, but a search was hampered due to IFR conditions and snow. No transponder code was issued to the airplane, and no discrete radar data was located in stored radar data to assist in locating the airplane. By 0900 on 4/15/95, analysis of the primary target radar returns helped in locating the accident airplane. Also, only an intermittent signal was transmitted from the airplane's emergency locator transmitter (ELT). The wreckage was located 3 days later, where the airplane had crash landed on snow covered mountainous terrain. Investigation revealed the pilot initially survived the accident, but succumbed to hypothermia. He was wearing a flight suit over dress clothes, a flight jacket, and dress shoes. No survival equipment was required to be carried in the airplane. The pilot had a personal survival kit, but had left it in his vehicle at the departure airport. A note found in the wreckage indicated that the engine lost power. After recovery, the engine operated normally. The transponder switch was found in the "standby" position; inspection of the ELT revealed a faulty tuning crystal. The pilot had received training in survival skills and was a CAP survival skills instructor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.