# Accident 20051231032769A: Cessna 182D, Heber, AZ, December 31, 2005 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 31, 2005, 18:30 local time - Place: Heber, AZ - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.5456° N, 110.9364° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.5456&lon=-110.9364&mi=10 - Aircraft: N182GV, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N182GV-2006-04-06) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182D (registry code 2072710, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182d) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182D - Reported engine: CONT O470R - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 88 total, 42 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN06FA028](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN06FA028) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051231032769A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) AIRCRAFT WAS ON A NIGHT VFR FLIGHT FROM GUNNISON, CO TO SCOTTSDALE, AZ. AFTER A FUEL STOP AT TELURIDE, CO. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED ONTO SCOTTSDALE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON RADAR WITH ALBUQUERQUE CENTER TO A POINT APPROX. 18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WINSLOW AZ WHERE IT WAS LOST FROM RADAR. THIS IS A RADAR BLINDSPOT WHICH IS WELL KNOW TO CONTROLLERS. THE AIRCRAFT NEVER CAME OUT OF THE RADAR BLINDSPOT. FOR UNKNOWN REASONS THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED FROM 10,300 FT AND IMPACTED THE RAISING TERRAIN AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROX. 7100 FT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTED MISSING AND LOCAL SEARCH & RESCUE EFFORTS BEGAN EARLY ON JAN. 1, 2006. ACCIDENT CRASH SITE WAS FOUND ON THE AFTERNOON OF JAN. 3, 2006. THE CRASH SITE EXTENDED OVER AN AREA OF A COUPLE HUNDRED YARDS, IN A 220 DEGREE HEADING. PIECES OF THE RIGHT HAND WING WERE FOUND IN THE TREE TOPS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DEBRIS PATH, AND SEVERAL TREE LIMBS HAD INDICATIONS OF FRESH BREAKS ALONG THE FLIGHT PATH. INDICATIONS SHOW AIRCRAFT INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE GROUND WAS AT HIGH SPEED AND LOW ANGLE OF ATTACK. THE RIGHT HAND WING DETACHED FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND WAS FOUND JUST PRIOR TO THE REST OF THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST UPSIDE DOWN IN ASMALL GROUP OF JUNIPER TREES. THE PILOT WAS EJECTED FROM THE FUSELAGE AND WAS FOUND A FEW FEET BEYOND WHERE THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST. A POST CRASH FIRE HAD CONSUMED MOST OF THE FUSELAGE AND A PORTION OF THE LEFT HAND WING. THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT HAD BEEN SEVERELY DAMAGED BY THE FIRE ALSO. POST CRASH INVESTIGATION INDICATIONS: ALL PARTS OF THE WINGS, FLIGHT CONTROLS, AND EMPENNAGE WERE ACCOUNTED FOR. CONTINUITY OF CONTROL CABLES WAS ABLE TO BE DETERMINED EVEN THOUGH THE RIGHT HAND WING WAS DETACHED. PROPELLER WAS DETACHED FROM THE ENGINE. INDICATIONS ON THE PROPELLER SHOWED POWER WAS BEING DEVELOPED WHEN IT CAME IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. ENGINE WAS INSPECTED BY THE CONTINENTAL MANUFACTURER REPRESENTATIVE WHO DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE WAS COMPLETE, HAD CONTINUITY OF ALL PARTS, AND WAS DEVELOPING POWER AT IMPACT. BECAUSE OF THE FIRE THERE WERE NO USABLE PARTS LEFT OF THE AIRCRAFT INTERIOR TO OBTAIN EVIDENCE FROM THE FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS, ENGINE CONTROLS, ENGINE INSTRUMENTS, OR RADIOS. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB DEN06FA028](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN06FA028), Jan 1, 2006: Cessna 182D (N182GV), Heber, AZ, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. Contributing factors included the pilot's lack of night flying experience and the dark night. ## Other reports on N182GV (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20050213002799I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050213002799I), Feb 13, 2005: Cessna 182D (N182GV), Grand Island, NE. (-23) N182GV departed kankakee, IL. Airport IFR enroute to Grand Island, NE. During the approach to Grand Island, in VFR conditions, the engine quit. The pilot… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.