# Accident 20190301000699A: Cessna 182S, Louisburg, NC, March 1, 2019 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 1, 2019, 19:20 local time - Place: Louisburg, NC - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.0019° N, 78.3547° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0019&lon=-78.3547&mi=10 - Aircraft: N26617, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N26617-2022-04-02) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182S (registry code 2072701, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182s) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182S - Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540 - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 3 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 1,270 total, 1,152 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA19FA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19FA113) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190301000699A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON FRIDAY MARCH 1, 2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 1921 EASTERN STANDARD TIME N26617 A CESSNA 182S WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF FROM RUNWAY 23 AT TRIANGLE NORTH EXECUTIVE AIRPORT(LHZ). LOCATION OF ACCIDENT REPORTED AT 115 CLIFFTON POND ROAD, LOUISBURG, NC. APPROXIMATELY 1.66 MILES FROM END OF RUNWAY 23. THREE FATALITIES. NIGHT INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITONS PREVAILED. AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED AND ACTIVATED FOR A PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 FROM LHZ TO HILTON HEAD, SC. A WEATHER BRIEFING WAS OBTAINED THEOUGH A THIRD PARTY VENDOR (FOREFLIGHT). CLEARANCE INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO ESTABLISH A HEADING OF 180 DEGRESS AND CLIMB TO 3,000 FEET MSL. TAKE OFF FROM RUNWAY 23. ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT WAS IDENTIFIED(TARGET) AT 19:20 OVER THE RUNWAY AT 425 FEET MSL. ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT (TARGET) WAS LOST AT 625 FEET AT 19:21. COMMUNICATION FROM THE PILOT AND ATC WAS NEVER ESTABLISHED. ASI BURCH ARRIVED AT 115 CLIFTON POND ROAD, LOUISBURG, NC. AT APPROXIMATELY 1000 STANDARD EASTERN TIME. 03/02/2019. CONFIRMATION OF THREE FATALITES WAS ESTABLISHED. EMS ESCORTED FAA INVESTIGATIVE TEAM TO THE CRASH SITE VIA ATV. LOCAL EMS AND NC STATE HIGHWAY PATROL HAD BEEN AT THE SITE ALL NIGHT SECURING THE SCENE. UPON ARRIVAL AT ACCIDENT SITE ASI BURCH OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE SECURED TO A TREE PARTIALLY SUBMERGED IN A SMALL STREAM VIA WEB STRAPPING. DEBRIS WAS SCATTERED FORWARD OF THE WRECKAGE ON A STEEP INCLINE EXTENDING FROM THE STREAM BANK. DEBRIS WAS ALSO NOTICED ON THE OPPOSITE STREAM BANK AND IN A TREE THE AIRCRAFT HAD IMPACTED ON ITS DESCENT. SOME OF THE DEBRIS HAD BEEN MOVED BY EMS PERSONNEL IN ORDER TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, BUT ORIGINAL LOCATIONS WERE POINTED OUT BY EMS PERSONNEL WHO HAD MOVED THEM. ASI BURCH TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE ACCIDENT SITE AND DOCUMENTED INDIVIDUAL AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS WHERE THEY IMPACTED THE GROUND BY PHOTOGRAPH. THE NTSB IIC HAD AUTHORIZED FRANKLIN COUNTY EMS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CHIEF DURING A PHONE CONVERSATION TO MOVE THE WRECKAGE FROM THE WATER. THIS WAS LATER CONFIRMED IN A PHONE CONVERSATION WITH THE NTSB IIC PRIOR TO HIS ARRIVAL. ASI BURCH WAS GIVEN A LIST OF WITNESS'S FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY EMS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CHIEF. THESE STATEMENTS WERE COLLECTED BY NC HIGHWAY PATROL. WITNESSES FROM THE GROUND STATED THEY HEARD THE AIRCRAFT TAKE OFF AND THE SOUND OF ACCELERATION BEFORE AN IMPACT COULD BE HEARD. ANOTHER WITNESS STATED THE RAIN WAS INTENSE ENOUGH TO INTERUPT SATELITE RECEPTION. THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS MOVED TO TRIANGLE NORTH EXECUTIVE AIRPORT 'T' HANGAR LEASED TO THE PILOT. MARCH 3, 2019 AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ENGINE AND AIRFRAME WAS CONDUCTED BY FAA, LYCOMING AND TEXTRON AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS. NO AIRFRAME OR ENGINE ANOMALIES WERE NOTED. DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE SUSTAINED AND A PORTION OF THE RIGHT WING MISSING INCLUDING THE RIGHT HAND FLAP A COMPLETE FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY CHECK COULD NOT BE ACCOMPLISHED. DURING THE INVESTIGATION COMPLIANCE OF AD 2019-01-02, ASPEN AVIONICS,INC., EVOLUTION FLIGHT DISPLAY UNITS CAME INTO QUESTION. ALTHOUGH AD WAS NOT ADDRESSED BY THE OWNER/OPERATOR, AN INVESTIGATION INTO AD REQUIREMENTS WAS CONDUCTED. THROUGH STATEMENTS OBTAINED FROM THE INSTALLATION AGENCY AND PHONE CALL DISCUSSION WITH EQUIPTMENT OEM, IT WAS DETERMINED THE AD WAS NOT A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR. A REVIEW OF THE AIRFRAME LOGBOOK INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT HAD AN ANNUAL INSPECTION COMPLIED WITH 11/12/2018 AT 3,757 TOTAL AIRCRAFT HOURS. THE PILOT HELD A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE RATED FOR SINGLE ENGINE LAND AND INSTRUMENT RATED. ## 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 ERA19FA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19FA113), Mar 2, 2019: Cessna 182 (N26617), Louisburg, NC, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of airplane control following takeoff in night instrument meteorological conditions. 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.