ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 150776
Last updated: 6 October 2020
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | 17-NOV-2012 |
| Time: | 13:45 |
| Type: |  Cessna 182D Skylane |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N61LN |
| C/n / msn: | 18253398 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Upper Hoback Canyon, between Jackson and Bondurant, WY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Stevensville, MT |
| Pinedale, WY | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
The noninstrument-rated pilot departed on a visual flight rules cross-county flight. Visual and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area around the time of the accident. Review of recorded radar data provided by the FAA (which did not record altitude) and recovered GPS data depicted the flight departing and proceeding on a south, southeasterly course then turning left to an easterly heading toward the intended destination; the last recorded radar return was about 1.5 miles northwest of the accident site. Throughout this timeframe, recorded GPS altitudes varied between 8,000 and 12,300 feet, however, an ascent to 13,450 feet mean sea level (msl) was recorded just before the end of recorded GPS data, about 22 miles west of the accident site. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted trees and mountainous terrain on a southwesterly heading just below the top of a ridgeline at an altitude of about 10,030 feet msl.
A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
AIRMETs for instrument meteorological conditions, mountain obscuration, and moderate icing conditions were in effect throughout the area about the time of the accident. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery indicated that clouds with tops of 16,700 feet msl were within the accident area, however, the cloud bases could not be determined. There was no evidence that the pilot obtained a weather briefing for the flight. Wreckage impact signatures and radar data were consistent with a right turn away from the flight’s intended destination just before the accident. It is likely that the pilot did not maintain sufficient altitude above the mountainous terrain while attempting to maneuver around the instrument meteorological conditions at the time of the accident.
Probable Cause: The noninstrument-rated pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering around weather.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20121125X95949&key=1
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=61LN
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Nov-2012 12:12 | gerard57 | Added |
| 20-Nov-2012 17:40 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 25-Nov-2012 02:29 | gerard57 | Updated [Location, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 26-Nov-2012 10:24 | Geno | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 28-Nov-2017 13:54 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description