Cessna 182Q N4701N

Summary

On 7 November 2011 at about 01:53 local time, a Cessna 182Q registered N4701N was involved in an accident near Lake Havasu City, Arizona, 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

7 November 2011 at 01:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Havasu City (HII)

Coordinates

34.3347, -113.7211

Aircraft

Cessna 182Q

Registration

N4701N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Glendale → Lake Havasu

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR12FA031

3 people died.

The pilot's continued cruise flight into cloudy conditions at night, which resulted in a loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation.

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 flying home after watching a football game. Because the game continued into overtime, the flight home occurred later than the pilot expected and involved flying at night. The pilot had obtained a weather briefing earlier that morning and was aware that a storm was due to arrive in the area about the time the return flight took place. At the time of the accident, visual meteorological weather conditions existed at all area airports; however, it was raining and clouds were present at the pilot’s intended cruise altitude during portions of the return flight. According to global positioning system data, the flight appeared to progress normally until about halfway along the planned route when the airplane suddenly descended about 1,000 feet, presumably to avoid clouds. A short time later, the airplane began a series of altitude and airspeed oscillations, which ultimately resulted in a rapidly descending turn into terrain. The debris field length and orientation were consistent with a loss of airplane control, with the airplane striking the ground inverted and at high speed. All sections of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site, and postaccident examination did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had flown the same route at night on four previous occasions, the most recent of which was 2 weeks before the accident; however, clear skies and unlimited visibilities existed for each of the previous flights. According to weather data, on the night of the accident, the moon was obscured by cloud, and therefore would have provided no visual reference. In addition, most of the accident flight occurred over uninhabited desert terrain, so limited ground references would have been available.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.