Accident Cessna 182P Skylane XBYUH,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 226852
 
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Date:Sunday 16 August 2015
Time:10:30
Type:Silhouette image of generic C182 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 182P Skylane
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: XBYUH
MSN: 182633285
Total airframe hrs:3093 hours
Engine model:Continental O-470R
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Big Piney, WY -   United States of America
Phase:
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Alpine, CO (46U)
Destination airport:Alpine, CO (46U)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The private pilot reported that, during a preflight briefing, he and the pilot-rated passenger (who was the owner of the airplane) agreed that in the case of an emergency, the owner would take control of the airplane. After takeoff, the sightseeing flight was normal until the airplane approached a glacier at 12,000 ft mean sea level. The pilot stated that because the airplane engine was normally aspirated, there was not much power left to climb, but everything was "ok." As the airplane entered the glacier area through a canyon, it encountered a sudden downdraft and started to descend; the pilot recalled that the airplane's altitude above terrain was about 500 ft. The pilot tried to maintain a level attitude, but the airspeed began to decrease as the airplane continued to descend. The pilot-rated passenger then took control of the airplane and immediately lowered the nose to increase airspeed and set up for an emergency landing; the airplane appeared to be stalling. The airplane landed hard on ice ditches, separating the nose gear. The main landing gear dug in and the airplane came to a stop, which resulted in structural damage to the fuselage. No mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the pilot. Because the engine was normally aspirated, the performance of the engine was reduced at a high altitude. Further, the airplane was about 500 ft above terrain when the downdraft occurred. Considering that downdrafts in high mountainous terrain can exceed 1,000 ft per minute, the pilot did not maintain adequate altitude for the operating environment.

Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude while operating over high mountainous terrain, which resulted in an emergency landing after the airplane's encounter with a downdraft.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN15LA403
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 3 years and 10 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
06-Jul-2019 19:35 ASN Update Bot Added

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