- Date
- March 12, 1982, 20:30 local (Mar 13, 1982, 04:30 UTC)
- Place
- Blythe, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N21409Cessna 182
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820312003789A
- Case key
- 69991
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
The engine lost power at night while the aircraft was en route at about 18,000 ft MSL. The pilot was unable to restart the engine. While trying to start the engine, he noted that the carburetor heat would not go full on or full off. The pilot asked for vectors to the nearest airport, but was unable to see it from about 7.5 miles. He was unaware that he had to key the microphone button five times on 122.8 mhz to turn on the runway lights. He was able to see a highway and car lights from about 17,000 ft MSL. While landing on the highway in heavy rain, the left wing and engine struck trees beside the roadway. An examination of the engine revealed no preimpact malfunction or failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21409
- Reported as
- Cessna 182
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 61620
- Airframe hours
- 3,019
- Engine
- Continental O-470, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Wheeler
- Registered owner
- James Wheeler
- Departed
- Polamar, CA
- Destination
- Phoenix, AZ
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,313 total · 852 in this make and model · 29 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.