Cessna 182Q N96894

Summary

On 24 September 2009 at about 11:08 local time, a Cessna 182Q registered N96894, operated by Daybrook Fisheries, was involved in an accident near Houma, Louisiana, 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

24 September 2009 at 11:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Houma, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Houma Terrebonne Airport (HUM)

Coordinates

29.5417, -90.6633

Aircraft

Cessna 182Q

Registration

N96894

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Daybrook Fisheries

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houma → Houma

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09FA603

1 person died.

The pilot’s decision to take off into instrument meteorological conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated commercial pilot requested and received a Special visual flight rules (SVFR) clearance to take off. Weather was below VFR minimums with a reported ceiling of 300 feet and seven miles visibility, and witnesses reported fog in the area. The pilot’s last radio transmission occurred at 0605 and the wreckage was located one mile south of the runway at 1225. No evidence of an airplane malfunction was found during postaccident wreckage examination and airplane wreckage and impact scars were indicative of a loss of airplane control prior to impact. The airplane was not equipped to fly in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The pilot's lack of instrument flight certification combined with the poor weather conditions were conducive to spatial disorientation. Toxicology results were positive for ethanol. Postaccident conditions were conducive to post-mortem ethanol production in the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.