# Accident 20210517009809A: Cessna 182H, Jasper Township, MI, May 17, 2021 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 17, 2021, 13:21 local time - Place: Jasper Township, MI - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 43.5180° N, 84.5510° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.5180&lon=-84.5510&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2430X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2430X-2022-09-03) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182H (registry code 2072718, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182h) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182H - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot, student - Pilot flight hours: 620 total, 40 in this make and model, 170 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN21FA220](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21FA220) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210517009809A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MAY 17, 2021 AT APPROXIMATELY 1:21 PM EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME (EDT), N2430X, A C-182-H AIRCRAFT, REGISTERED TO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT, WAS DESTROYED AFTER STRIKING AN ANTENNA WHILE ENROUTE ON A PIPELINE PATROL FLIGHT IN JASPER TOWNSHIP, MI. THE FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 91 WITHOUT A FLIGHT PLAN. THE PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM CLARE, MI AIRPORT (48D) EARLIER IN THE DAY AND WAS ENROUTE ALONG A PIPELINE TRAVELLING FROM THE VICINITY OF PORT HURON, MI TO KALKASKA, MI. THE AIRCRAFT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN NORTHWEST BOUND ALONG THE PIPELINE WHEN IT STRUCK GUY WIRES ANCHORING AN ADJACENT ANTENNA. THE ANTENNA IS DEPICTED ON AERONAUTICAL CHARTS AS 1049 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL). NUMEROUS GUY WIRES ANCHOR THE STRUCTURE. THE ANTENNA IS APPROXIMATELY 600 FEET TO THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF THE PIPELINE. THE MAJORITY OF THE LEFT WING WAS FOUND APPROXIMATELY 160 FEET EAST OF THE ANTENNA BASE AND THE REMAINDER OF THE WING AND FUEL BLADDER WERE FOUND WITHIN THE FENCED ENCLOSURE IMMEDIATELY AT THE FOUNDATION OF THE ANTENNA. A LARGE PORTION OF THE LEFT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, THE ENTIRE LEFT ELEVATOR, AND THE LEFT (PILOT SIDE) DOOR WERE LOCATED WITHIN ABOUT 200 FEET NORTHWEST OF THE ANTENNA. THE PRIMARY WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 1110 FEET FROM THE ANTENNA BEARING 305 DEGREES. THIS SITE BEARS SIGNS OF A HIGH ANGLE OF IMPACT WITH HIGH IMPACT FORCES. THE PROPELLER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BURIED IN THE SOFT DIRT OF THE PLOWED FIELD WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE WRECKAGE ABOUT 50 FEET BEYOND THIS POINT OF IMPACT. LARGE PORTIONS OF THE RIGHT WING, TAIL AND AIRCRAFT ENGINE REMAINED IDENTIFIABLE BUT BEARING SIGNIFICANT IMPACT DAMAGE. THE REMAINDER OF THE AIRCRAFT INCLUDING THE ENTIRE FUSELAGE AND INTERIOR WERE DESTROYED IN THE POST-CRASH FIRE. THERE WERE NO KNOWN WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT, WITH THE FIRST WITNESS OBSERVING THE AIRCRAFT SHORTLY AFTER THE ACCIDENT WHILE STILL BURNING IN THE POST-CRASH FIRE. A RELATIVE OF THE PILOT INDICATED HE HAD EXCHANGED TEXT MESSAGES WITH THE PILOT EARLIER IN THE DAY AND WAS AWARE HE WAS ON A PIPELINE FLIGHT. THIS INDIVIDUAL STATED THE PILOT SHARED A SNAPCHAT VIDEO SHORTLY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. HE STATED THAT THE VIDEO WAS FROM INSIDE THE AIRPLANE AND THAT HE SAW SEVERAL WINDMILLS AND FARM FIELDS THAT WERE JUST SOUTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE INDIVIDUAL NOTED THAT HE WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE LOCATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, AND THAT WAS WHY HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT THE VIDEO WAS TAKEN SHORTLY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE OWNER OF THE PIPELINE PATROL COMPANY STATED THAT FLIGHTS ARE TYPICALLY CONDUCTED BETWEEN 600 AND 800 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. HE FURTHER STATED THE AIRCRAFT HAD ALL REQUIRED INSPECTIONS COMPLETED WITH NO KNOWN MECHANICAL ISSUES. THE ACCIDENT PILOT HAD BEEN TRAINED BY THE COMPANY WITH APPROXIMATELY 40 HOURS OF INSTRUCTION RECEIVED. HE HAD COMPLETED APPROXIMATELY 3 SOLO PIPELINE FLIGHTS ALONG THIS LINE SINCE BECOMING QUALIFIED. A DESIGNATED PILOT EXAMINER (DPE) HAD FLOWN WITH THE PILOT TWO DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AND ISSUED HIM A MULTIENGINE LAND CLASS PRIVILEGES ON HIS CERTIFICATE. THIS DPE HAD FLOWN WITH THE PILOT ON AN ADDITIONAL 3 PRACTICAL TESTS SINCE JULY 2020. HE STATED THE PILOT EXHIBITED NO ADVERSE HABITS, HAZARDOUS ATTITUDES OR SKILL DEFICIENCIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND CALM WINDS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE WEATHER REPORT AT GRATIOT COMMUNITY AIRPORT IN ALMA, MI (AMN) AT 1716Z WAS: WIND CALM, VISIBILITY 10 STATUTE MILES, SKIES SCATTERED AT 5,500 AND SCATTERED AT 8,000, TEMPERATURE 23, DEW POINT 08, AND ALTIMETER 3022. ## 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 CEN21FA220](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21FA220), May 17, 2021: Cessna 182 (N2430X), St. Louis, MI, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate visual lookout to ensure clearance from the radio tower and its guy wires. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s unnecessary use of his mobile device… ## Other reports on N2430X (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20170130002739I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170130002739I), Jan 30, 2017: Cessna 182H (N2430X), Midland, MI, No damage. The pilot was flying a pipe line patrol route when the engine quit. He was able to glide to a highway and landed safely. Aircraft was towed to the airport and… 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.