- Date
- October 13, 1983, 21:00 local (Oct 14, 1983, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hanksville, UT
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3254YCessna 182
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 16176
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
There were two pilots aboard this acft which impacted in a steep nose down attitude on a plateau at 5000 ft MSL. Flight control continuity was established. The pilot was recently certificated & his class iii medical had expired. The second pilot held a commercial certificate & an instrument rating. His recent experience could not be determined. The crash site was in an area with no significant lights creating a 'black hole.' One propeller blade was twisted & bent with scratches on the camber side & a filament from a navigation light was stretched. The acft was not certified for icing conditions & had not been inspected for instrument flight. A meteorological summary indicates that the area of the accident at the approximate time of the flight would have been subject to thunderstorms with rain showers, light to moderate turbulence, flight visibility 0 miles in clouds. No weather briefing was obtained.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3254Y
- Reported as
- Cessna 182
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18254245
- Airframe hours
- 1,411
- Engine
- Continental O-470-L, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William J. Cox
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1983
- Departed
- TRM · Thermal, CA
- Destination
- U20 · Green River, UT
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
- 22
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Flight hours
- 141 total · 141 in this make and model · 106 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 200° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HVE, 24 nm away
Other investigations on N3254Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.