Cessna 182K N3083Q

Summary

On 30 January 2011 at about 03:30 local time, a Cessna 182K registered N3083Q, operated by Andrey Pasechnikov, was involved in an accident near Adrian, Oregon, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 January 2011 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Adrian, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

43.6736, -117.1228

Aircraft

Cessna 182K

Registration

N3083Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Andrey Pasechnikov

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ontario → Nampa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR11FA116

3 people died.

The non-instrument-rated pilot did not maintain sufficient altitude to clear mountainous terrain while in cruise flight in the dark.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated pilot was returning to his home airport about two hours after sunset on a dark night with low levels of ambient light. The pilot landed to refuel at an airport that was located about 40 miles northwest of his home airport. Around the time of his post-refueling departure, the weather in the valley between the refueling airport and his home airport varied from clear skies to a solid overcast cloud layer, with some areas being covered by patchy ground fog and mist. After takeoff, the pilot flew in a southerly direction along the western edge of the valley. As he continued to the south, he reached a location where the western edge of the valley is defined by a steeply rising line of hills. At that point the pilot turned about 10 degrees to the east and then proceeded along the eastern edge of the hilly area. After flying a little over five miles beyond the point where he turned to the east, the airplane impacted the steeply rising terrain on the eastern edge of the hills. The impact ground scars were consistent with the airplane being in a wings-level attitude, and an examination of the engine and propeller revealed evidence that was consistent with the engine being at cruise power or greater. The investigation did not reveal any evidence of anomalies or malfunctions associated with the airplane's airframe, engine, or systems. It is likely that the pilot failed to see the terrain and inadvertently flew into it while in cruise flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.