- Date
- July 9, 2007, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Edgerton, WI
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2579RCessna 182K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070709019989A
- Case key
- 66178
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The reported non-mechanical loss of engine power for undetermined reasons during cruise and the excessive airspeed the pilot maintained during the approach for the forced landing. Factors were the loss of electrical power during cruise and the high vegetation that was impacted during the forced landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The Cessna 182 airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain during a forced landing following a loss of electrical power and reported loss of engine power during cruise. The pilot's accident report, in part, stated, "Coming in at about 140 at the threshold of 36 I had to force it to the ground causing it to porpoise when I got all landing gear on turf I was still going fast and was at the end of the runway. With a road and a house just a few hundred feet ahead I decided to turn into the corn on my left to stop." A post accident examination of the wreckage revealed a loose alternator wire. The engine was subsequently started and ran. The approach speed with no flaps for the 182K is 80 to 90 MPH.
Factual narrative
On July 9, 2007, about 1230 central daylight time, a Cessna 182K, N2579R, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain during a forced landing at the Jana Airport, near Edgerton, Wisconsin, following a loss of electrical power and reported loss of engine power during cruise. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot and one passenger sustained no injuries. The pilot reported that one passenger sustained minor injury. The flight originated from the Merrill Municipal Airport, near Merrill, Wisconsin, about 1100 and was destined for the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, near Janesville, Wisconsin.
The pilot's accident report, in part, stated:
[Twenty miles northwest] of Janesville I reported my position with
information Zulu to Janesville approach. At that time my radios
went dead along with all electrical so I decided to divert to Fort
Atkinson (61C) a non towered paved strip. Southwest of Edgerton
my engine failed so I found Jana (58C) on my Garmin 296 hand
held GPS for an emergency landing. With no electric I could not
use flaps and was at 800 ft on short final for [runway] 36 - a 2,300 ft
grass strip. Coming in at about 140 at the threshold of 36 I had to
force it to the ground causing it to porpoise when I got all landing
gear on turf I was still going fast and was at the end of the runway.
With a road and a house just a few hundred feet ahead I decided to
turn into the corn on my left to stop.
Federal Aviation Administration Inspectors examined the wreckage. A loose alternator wire was found. The engine was subsequently started on-scene and ran.
The approach speed with no flaps for the 182K is 80 to 90 MPH.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2579R
- Reported as
- Cessna 182K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18258279
- Airframe hours
- 6,887.8
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- New Testament Church Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2007
- Departed
- RRL · Merrill, WI
- Destination
- JVL · Janesville, WI
- Airport
- 58C · Jana, runway 36, 2,305 × 135 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 330 total · 230 in this make and model · 262 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- KJVL, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.