LAX06FA091

The airplane impacted a hill about 34 miles north of the destination airport. The accident occurred under dark, nighttime, visual meteorological conditions. The airplane was en route on a 57-mile cross-country flight through a valley. The pilot frequently used the airplane to commute between the departure and destination points, accruing thousands of hours in the valley. The airplane wreckage was on a hill with about a 25-degree slope and located about 275 feet below the ridgeline's top. A heavily traveled highway was situated adjacent to the hill in the same north-south orientation as the route of flight. The wreckage distribution path was 400 feet long on a magnetic bearing of about 340 degrees. An examination of the impact ground scars disclosed that the airplane was in controlled flight in a near level configuration when it collided with the terrain. At the time of the accident, the moon was 3.7 degrees above the eastern horizon but blocked by mountains to the east. It is likely the lights from the automobiles on the highway would have been visible to the pilot, but there were no lights to distinguish the rising terrain. During the wreckage examination of the airframe's structure and the engine, no evidence of any preimpact failures or malfunctions was found.

History of flight

On January 17, 2006, about 2030 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 182P, N6034J, collided with a hill 7 miles south of Big Pine, California, in the Owens Valley. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The personal local flight departed from Eastern Sierra Regional Airport, Bishop, California, about 2015, with a planned destination of Lone Pine Airport, Lone Pine, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed.

A witness located at campground below the area of impact submitted a written statement to the Inyo County Sheriff. He reported that he was sitting in his car and noticed red and green lights faintly illuminated in the distance. He thought that the lights appeared to be at ground level and kept his eyes affixed as the lights became brighter and more distinct. The lights began to ascend and he discerned that they were part of an airplane. The airplane became closer and he could audibly distinguish the engine sound. The airplane collided with a hill east of the campground and burned.

Personnel information

A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed that the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. The original issuance date of his certificate was November 1982. The pilot's most recent medical certificate was issued as a third-class on May 29, 2005, and contained limitations that he must wear corrective lenses and possess glasses for near and intermediate vision.

The pilot's personal flight records were not recovered. On his last application for a medical certificate the pilot reported a total flight time of 6,500 hours.

The pilot's friends and family stated that he had attended a town meeting in Bishop the night of the accident and was flying back to his hangar in Lone Pine. They added that he frequently used the airplane to commute to Bishop and had accrued thousands of hours flying in the Owens Valley.

Aircraft information

No airplane or engine maintenance logbooks were located. A review was conducted of the material maintained by the FAA in the Aircraft and Registry files for this airplane. The single engine Cessna 182P, serial number 18263611, was manufactured in February 1975, and purchased by the pilot in November 2004. According to the original application for a normal category airworthiness certificate completed by Cessna Aircraft, a Teledyne Continental Motors O-470-S series engine (serial number 462155) was installed on the airplane at the time of manufacture. The engine found in the wreckage was an O-470-R series engine (serial number 131414-5-R), and was installed on the airplane on July 15, 1980.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) located an invoice from an engine overhaul that was completed on December 02, 1999. At that time the carburetor was additionally overhauled and bench tested. It is not known what maintenance was preformed after this.

The IIC visited the pilot's hangar 2 days after the accident. A large rectangular fuel tank was found in a corner of the hangar. The easily accessible tank was equipped with a metering unit and dispensing nozzle. A sample of the fluid was taken that was found inside the tank. The odor was consistent with that automobile gasoline. A water detecting paste was exposed to the fluid and revealed no evidence of water.

Lone Pine Airport personnel stated that they believed the pilot regularly used automobile gasoline in his airplane. They provided the dates of the last three purchases the pilot made for 100LL avgas at the airport:

February 03, 2005: 13.82 gallons

April 30, 2005: 41.20 gallons

October 26, 2005: 10.10 gallons

The airplane make and model is listed as being applicable to receive a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to operate on automobile gasoline.

Meteorological information

The closest weather observation station was at Bishop, located 23 nautical miles (nm) north of the accident site. A routine aviation weather report (METAR) was issued at 1956. It stated: winds 260 degrees at 4 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; skies clear; temperature 01 degrees Celsius; dew point -02 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.10 inches of mercury. At 2056, the observation was updated to: winds 270 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; skies clear; temperature -01 degrees Celsius; dew point -02 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.09 inches of mercury.

A Safety Board computer program was used to determine the position and illumination of the moon. At the time of the accident, the moon was 3.7 degrees above the eastern horizon on a magnetic bearing of 64.9 degrees. The program listed the disk illumination as 88 percent. Sunset and the end of civil twilight occurred at 1708 and 1736, respectively.

A north-south oriented range of mountains were to the east, about 11 nautical miles (nm) from the accident site. The elevations reached 9,500 feet msl, which were 5,075 feet above the terrain of the accident site's elevation. The IIC calculated that the mountains were 4.34 degrees above that horizon at the accident site.

A sergeant from the Inyo County Sheriff's Department responded to the accident immediate after being notified. He stated that at 2120, while en route to the accident site, he noted that the night was cold and dark.

Wreckage and impact information

The airplane wreckage was located on a 25-degree slope, comprised of soft dirt, low brush, and loose shale rocks. The accident site was about 23 miles from Bishop on a bearing of 153 degrees, and about 34 miles from Lone Pine on a bearing of 326 degrees. The global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates for the crash site were 37 degrees 03 minutes 15.2 seconds north latitude and 118 degrees 15 minutes 51.5 seconds west longitude.

The wreckage came to rest on a hill located between mountain ranges in an area known as Owens Valley. The valley stretches for over 75 miles between the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west and the Inyo and White Mountains on the east. The mountains on either side of the valley reach above 14,000 feet mean sea level (msl), while the terrain floor averages about 4,100 feet msl, with sporadic hills located inside the basin. United States Highway 395 runs on a north-south route directly through the valley and is heavily traveled by both truckers and residents.

The airplane came to rest about 4,700 feet msl, which corresponded to being about 275 feet below the ridgeline. The hill was surrounded by flat terrain, which the elevation was about 4,300 feet msl, and a campground was situated at the baseline. Highway 395 was located to the east of the hill, less than a mile from the campground.

All of the airplane's major components were located at the accident site, with a majority of the debris within a 400-foot radius on a bearing of about 340 degrees. The first identified point of contact consisted of red lens fragments intertwined with broken and compressed brush. The main wreckage, consisting of the fuselage and empennage, came to rest upright about 400 feet from the first identified point of contact. Fire consumed the cockpit and cabin area.

All flight controls were accounted for at the accident site. The upper portion of the fuselage was completely consumed by fire, with the floor area exposed. Both wings were located upslope, adjacent to the main wreckage. They were separated from the airframe and thermally damage on their inboard halves.

The fuselage was extensively burned, with the only readily identifiable pieces consisting of the floor, seat tracks, control yokes, and rudder pedals. The firewall was imbedded under remnants of the right wing adjacent where the carburetor, gascolator, an